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BS2418  .F841 

Fraser,  Donald,  1826-1892. 

Metaphors  in  the  gospels  :  a  series  of  short 

studies. 


METAPHORS    IN    THE 
GOSPELS. 

A    SERIES   OF  SHORT  STUDIES. 


DONALD   FRASER,  D.D. 

AUTHOR    OF 

SYNOPTICAL    LECTURES   ON    THE    BOOKS   OF    HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 

"THE   SPEECHES    OF    THE    HOLY   APOSTLES,"    ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    &    BROTHERS, 

530  BROADWAY. 

188;. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE  .... 
I.  SALT  .... 
II.    LIGHT 

III.  TREASDRE     . 

IV.  THE   CHIP  AND   THE   BEAM 
V.   THE   DOGS  AND   THE   SWINE 

VI.   TWO   GATES   AND    TWO   WAYS 
VII.   TREES  AND   THEIR   FRUIT     . 
VIIL    THE   WISE   BUILDER   AND   THE   FOOLISH 
IX.   THE  PHYSICIAN   AND   HIS   PATIENTS 
X.   GARMENTS  AND   WINE-SKINS 
XI.   THE   HARVEST  AND   THE   LABOURERS 
XII.   SERPENTS   AND   DOVES 
XIII.    CHILDREN  AT   PLAY 
XIV.   BAD   LEAVEN 
XV.   THE   CHURCH   ROCK 
XVI.   THE   KEYS    . 
XVII.   A  LITTLE   CHILD 
XVIII.   THE   EYE   OF   A   NEEDLE 


PAGE 
V 

I 

16 

28 
33 
5° 
63 
76 

87 
95 
106 
112 
118 
127 

135 
144 
152 

157 
169 


CONTENTS. 


PACE 

XIX.   THE   GNAT   AND   THE   CAMEL 

1S1 

XX.   WHITEWASHED   TOMBS 

191 

XXI.  "that  fox"       .         .         .         .     "    . 

202 

XXII.    THE   HEN  AND   CHICKENS    . 

209 

XXIII.   LIGHTNING             .... 

221 

XXIV.    VULTURES  .           .           .            . 

232 

XXV.   HOUSE-SERVANTS 

243 

XXVI.   THE   TEMPLE        .... 

257 

XXVII.   THE   BREEZE         .... 

267 

XXVIII.    LIVING   WATER   .... 

278 

XXIX.   LIVING    BREAD     .... 

290 

XXX.    DAY   AND   NIGHT 

305 

XXXI.   THE   DOOR   AND   THE   SHEPHERD 

316 

XXXII.   A   GRAIN   OP   WHEAT   . 

328 

XXXIII.  THE   BATH   AND   THE   BASON 

341 

XXXIV.   THE  TRUE   VINE 

347 

XXXV.   TRAVAIL 

360 

XXXVI.   THE   GREEN   TREE   AND   THE   DRY 

37o 

INDEX  OP   PASSAGES  OP   SCRIPTURE 

375 

PREFACE. 


Books  on  the  Parables  of  Christ  are  many;  but 
we  do  not  know  of  even  one  devoted  to  the  exposi- 
tion of  those  similitudes,  so  frequent  in  the  oral 
teaching  of  our  Saviour,  which  do  not  take  the 
narrative  form  or  reach  the  dimensions  of  a  par- 
able. Benjamin  Keach's  "  Key  to  Open  Scripture 
Metaphors "  is  much  more  than  a  key.  Going 
over  the  whole  field  of  Scripture,  it  takes  up  every 
figure  of  speech,  and  draws  out  lists  of  parallels, 
disparities,  and  inferences  on  each,  with  a  pious, 
though  sometimes  almost  grotesque,  ingenuity.  Not 
so  much  the  age  as  the  size  and  plan  of  this  work 
have  made  it  obsolete.  "  The  Lesser  Parables  of 
our  Lord,"  by  the  late  Eev.  William  Arnot,  seemed 
to  promise  just  what  we  wanted;  but  the  volume 
so  entitled  turns  out  to  be  a  posthumous  compila- 
tion of  sermons,  beginning  indeed  with  lesser  par- 
ables, but  of  these  treating  only  five.  Professor  A. 
B.  Bruce  furnishes  a   few  valuable  pages  on  what 


vi  PREFACE. 

he  calls  Parable-germs  in  his  work  on  the  "  Para- 
bolic Teaching  of  Christ."  But  no  writer,  so  far  as 
known  to  us,  has  yet  attempted  to  deal  with  these 
in  any  sort  of  complete  fashion ;  and  therefore  we 
hope  that  our  studies  will  not  be  regarded  as  a 
superfluous  addition  to  expository  literature. 

We  have  not  included  in  our  plan  all  the 
metaphors  which  occur  in  the  four  evangelical 
narratives,  but  confined  ourselves  to  those  which 
were  employed  by  Jesus  Christ.  Accordingly, 
our  list  does  not  include  "  the  axe  at  the  root 
of  the  tree,"  "the  fan  and  threshing-floor,"  or 
"  the  Lamb  of  God,"  all  of  which  phrases  are 
attributed  to  John  the  Baptist. 

The  term  "  metaphor "  we  adopt,  without  any 
pretence  of  strict  accuracy,  simply  as  the  most 
convenient  to  cover  -all  the  tropes  and  similitudes 
which  our  Lord  employed  to  illustrate  and  enforce 
His  meaning.  "We  do  not  trouble  ourselves  about 
the  Grammatical  and  rhetorical  distinction  of  me- 
tonymy,  metaphor,  synecdoche,  and  allegory.  Of 
those  similitudes  and  comparisons  which  are  on  our 
list,  that  of  the  Two  Builders  may  almost  rank  as  a 
parable ;  those  of  the  True  Bread  and  the  True 
Vine  may  be  styled  allegories  ;  while  that  of  the 
Shepherd  is  called  by  St.  John  a  Tlapoifila;  and 
Christ  Himself  describes  many  of  His  sayings 
to  the  disciples  by  this  last  word.     The  Eevised 


PREFACE.  vii 

Version  translates  the  word  as  "parable"  in  the 
ioth  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  putting  "pro- 
verb "  in  the  margin ;  and  in  the  1 6th  chapter  of 
the  same  book  gives  "  proverbs  "  in  the  text  and 
places  "  parables  "  in  the  margin.  In  this  incon- 
sistency it  follows  the  Authorised  Version ;  but  in 
truth,  neither  parable  nor  proverb  is  a  good  render- 
ing.' The  parosmia,  as  Meyer  correctly  explains, 
may  mean  "  any  species  of  expression  that  deviates 
from  the  common  course  (oimos)."  We  prefer  to  use 
the  title  "  Metaphors  in  the  Gospels,"  because  in  all 
the  sayings  of  Christ  treated  of  in  this  volume  the 
element  of  analogy  and  comparison  will  be  found. 

The  Great  Prophet  dealt  largely  in  illustration 
because  He  spoke  to  "  the  common  people,"  who  in 
every  country,  but  especially  in  the  East,  must  be 
helped  in  this  way  to  apprehend  generalised  truth. 
Sometimes  He  gave  an  enigmatical  turn  to  His 
speech  in  order  to  stimulate  thought  in  His  dis- 
ciples, and  at  the  same  time  to  baffle  those  by- 
standers who  were  anxious  to  cavil  and  condemn. 
He  never  introduced  a  metaphor  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  decorating  His  public  addresses  or 
gratifying  a  poetic  fancy.  Some  of  His  illustra- 
tions, as  well  as  of  His  parables,  are  pathetic 
and  beautiful ;  but  generally  they  are  very  real- 
istic, and  are  addressed  quite  as  much  to  reason 
and  common  sense  as  to  imam  nation. 


viii  PREFACE. 

Every  religious  teacher  must  use  metaphors,  and 
the  higher  the  religion  the  greater  the  need  of  them. 
The  objects  and  interests  spoken  of  are  too  great 
and  holy  to  be  adequately  contained  in  didactic  and 
logical  forms.  They  require  type,  allegory,  par- 
able, word-picture,  and  suggestive  simile  in  order 
to  reach  the  human  understanding  and  heart.  And 
of  this  method  of  conveying  and  illuminating  reli- 
gious truth  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  most  perfect 
Master  that  the  world  has  seen.  How  naturally  His 
metaphors  rose  out  of  the  occasion,  and  appealed 
to  the  observation  and  experience  of  those  who 
heard  Him,  we  have  tried  to  show  again  and 
again  in  the  following  pages. 

It  may  be  proper  to  mention  at  the  outset  that 
our  quotations  from  the  New  Testament  are  almost 
invariably  taken  from  the  Eevised  Version. 


METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 


i. 

SALT. 

°  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  :  "Salt  therefore  is  good:  but 

but  if    the    salt    have    lost    its  if  even  the   salt    have    lost  its 

savour,    wherewith   shall    it    be  savour,    wherewith    shall    it    be 

salted?  it  is  henceforth  good  for  seasoned?    It  is  fit  neither  for 

nothing,  but  to  be  cast  out  and  the  land  nor  for  the   dunghill : 

trodden  under  foot  of   men." —  men  cast  it  out." — St.  Luke  xiv. 

St.  Matt.  v.  13.  34,  35. 

It  is  a  mark  of  genius  to  see  in  common 
things  what  is  not  commonplace,  and  to 
make  familiar  words  and  objects  luminous 
with  meaning.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  this 
power  in  a  quite  exceptional  degree ;  yet  one 
feels  that  the  term  "  genius "  does  not  quite 
suit  Him,  does  not  adequately  express  the 
calm  penetration  of  His  mind.  What  we 
recognise  in  Him  is  a  consummate  wisdom, 
piercing  in  its  insight,  serene  in  its  temper, 

A 


2  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

powerful  in  its  utterance.  As  made  known 
to  us  in  the  Gospels,  He  is  at  once  the  most 
profound  and  the  least  technical  of  all  re- 
ligious teachers.  He  saw  the  heart  of  men 
and  things,  and  drew  hidden  facts  and  truths 
to  light  ;  but  even  in  touching  the  most 
difficult  matters,  used  no  recondite  term  or 
phrase  of  subtlety.  Enough  for  Him  the 
language  of  everyday  life  and  the  popular 
proverbs  of  the  time,  with  such  illustrations 
as  the  houses,  gardens,  and  fields  of  Palestine 
supplied.  Of  them,  indeed,  He  made  such 
apt  and  copious  use,  that  one  who  has  read 
the  Gospels  carefully  cannot  see  bread,  water, 
wine,  oil,  or  salt,  cannot  look  at  the  grass, 
the  fruit  trees,  or  the  birds  of  the  air,  cannot 
so  much  as  feel  the  wind  play  upon  his  cheek, 
without  a  suggestion  of  truth  taught  and  em- 
phasised by  the  Lord  Christ. 

The  first  metaphor  which  occurs  in  St. 
Matthew's  report  of  our  Saviour's  words  is  a 
very  homely  one. 

Common  salt  is  valued  for  its  antiseptic 
quality.  A  little  fine  salt  is  agreeable  to 
the  taste  ;    but  the  point   of  the  illustration 


SALT.  3 

rests  on  the  power  of  salt,  coarse  or  fine,  to 
preserve  animal  tissues  from  decay.  Christ 
described  His  disciples  as  salt  of  the  earth 
or  of  the  land.  They  were  not  men  of  much 
refinement,  but  they  had  in  them  the  saline 
property  which  would  make  them  morally  and 
spiritually  useful  to  all  around. 

This  substance  was  taken  by  the  ancients 
as  an  emblem  of  wit  and  piquant  wisdom  ; 
but  our  Lord  gave  it  a  larger  and  deeper 
meaning.  He  had  described  in  the  Beati- 
tudes the  features  and  elements  of  that 
character  which  should  be  formed  by  His 
disciples,  and  would  make  them  useful  to 
other  men.  It  was  a  type  of  character 
which  He  alone  was  competent  to  describe, 
and  which  He  alone  has  perfectly  exempli- 
fied. If  we  may  speak  of  it  as  of  a  tree, 
its  root  is  in  the  soil  of  meekness  and  humi- 
lity, watered  by  godly  sorrow.  Its  strong 
stem  is  the  desire  of  righteousness,  and  its 
fruits  are  mercifulness,  purity  of  heart,  and 
the  love  of  peace.  The  Master  warned  His 
disciples  that  possession  of  such  a  character 
would  not  gain  for  them  the  world's  favour. 


4  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

On  the  contrary,  it  would  provoke  persecu- 
tion and  reproach.  But  such  as  had  this 
salt  in  themselves  could  never  be  without 
a  beneficial  influence  on  the  society  around 
them.  "Wherever  they  might  dwell,  they 
would  be  the  salt  of  the  land. 

The  Latin  Church,  in  its  materialistic 
fashion,  employs  actual  salt  in  the  baptismal 
service.  The  priest  puts  it  into  the  mouth 
of  the  person,  adult  or  infant,  who  is  bap- 
tized.* It  is  an  unauthorised  ceremony ;  but 
it  is  a  sort  of  traditional  witness  to  the 
obligation  lying  on  all  Christians  to  have 
in  themselves  that  which  salt  might  symbo- 
lise. Our  Lord  requires  that  all  who  follow 
Him  shall  have  that  style  of  character 
which  savours  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
so  exert  a  morally  antiseptic  influence  on 
others. 

Noah,  as  a  just  man,  was  salt  in  the  old 

*  "  Quum  sal  in  illius  os,  qui  ad  baptisinum  adducendus 
est,  inseritur,  hoc  significari  perspicuum  est,  eum  fidei  doc- 
trina  et  gratise  demo  consecuturum  esse  ut  a  peccatorum 
putridine  liberetur,  saporemque  bonorum  operum  percipiat, 
et  divinre  sapiential  pabulo  dilectetur." — Cat.  Cone.  Trid., 
q.  65. 


SALT.  5 

world,  but  he  was  not  enough  to  save  man- 
kind when  "all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way 
upon  the  earth."  Lot  was  as  salt  among  the 
dwellers  in  Sodom,  when  "in  seeing  and 
hearing  he  vexed  his  righteous  soul  from  day 
to  day  with  their  lawless  deeds ; "  but  it  was 
more  than  he  could  do  to  stay  that  terrible 
corruption.  Ten  righteous  men  might  have 
saved  the  city,  but  not  one.  The  Lord  Jesus, 
purposing  to  effect  a  vast  and  permanent 
moral  change,  not  only  in  the  land  of  Judea, 
but  in  the  corrupt  Gentile  world,  set  Himself 
to  provide  a  sufficient  quantity  of  salt.  He 
would  not  send  forth  a  multitude  of  ill-trained 
adherents.  More  good  was  to  be  done  by  a 
much  smaller  number  of  disciples  well  pre- 
pared and  thoroughly  imbued  with  His  Spirit ; 
and  yet  not  too  few.  They  must  be  numerous 
enough  not  to  be  crushed  into  obscurity ;  and 
they  must  teach  and  train  others  to  join 
them,  and  to  succeed  them  as  the  saviours 
of  society  and  the  salt  of  many  lands. 

A  candid  view  of  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity on  that  wicked  world  into  which 
Apostles  and  Evangelists   pushed  their  way, 


6  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  in  which  the  primitive  Churches  were 
planted,  must  lead  any  one  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  species  of  moral  "  salt  "  was  then 
applied  to  a  society  Otherwise  hastening  to 
decay ;  and  it  is  important  to  remember  that 
this  influence  was  exerted  not  by  the  diffu- 
sion of  a  literature,  or  by  the  performance 
of  prodigies,  or  by  the  hand  of  authority, 
but  simply  by  the  individual  and  social  life 
of  men  and  women — a  few  of  high  degree, 
but  far  more  in  humble  station,  and  not  a 
few  of  them  slaves — who  had  some  new 
element  of  wisdom  and  goodness  in  their 
minds  and  hearts — who,  in  fact,  had  salt  in 
themselves. 

If  there  is  much  ineffective  Christianity  in 
the  present  age,  it  is  due  to  the  lack  of  salt. 
Christian  literature  has  become  immense  in 
bulk,  and  sermons  are  innumerable,  but  these 
cannot  of  themselves  subdue  the  corruption 
which  is  in  the  world.  Signs  and  wonders, 
even  if  we  could  command  them,  would  not 
suit  the  case.  The  hand  of  authority  cannot 
produce  conviction  or  faith ;  and  no  one 
thinks  of  invoking  it.     What  the  world  needs 


SALT.  7 

is  the  influence,  passive  and  active,  of  Chris- 
tian men  and  women,  who  have  grown  into 
"  the  Beatitudes,"  and  therefore  must  be  salt 
of  the  land  whereon  they  dwell ;  must  be  felt, 
and  felt  for  good. 

One  may  often  meet  with  a  man  who  avows 
himself  quite  incredulous  of  miracles  and  very 
sceptical  about  certain  parts  of  the  Bible,  and 
yet  admits  that  the  moral  effect  produced  by 
Christianity  on  the  ancient  Boman  world  says 
much  for  its  Divine  origin.  But  he  not  un- 
reasonably  asks  that  a  similar  moral  energy 
should  be  exhibited  now.  And  here  lies  the 
weakness  of  much  of  our  modern  argumenta- 
tion  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  It  is 
not  sufficiently  sustained  by  those  who  profess 
and  call  themselves  Christians.  So  far  as 
scholarship  and  dialectic  skill  can  prove  our 
faith  Divine,  we  are  exceedingly  well  served. 
But  we  want  more  proof  in  deeds  as  well  as 
words.  The  multitudes  in  Christendom  who 
are  doubtful  or  indifferent  need  to  see  the  true 
Christians  who  are  among  them  living  to  better 
purpose,  and  to  feel  by  daily  contact  with  them 
that  they  have  "salt  in  themselves." 


8  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

To  be  salt  of  the  land,  then,  is  to  be  in  the 
highest  sense  useful  to  our  fellow-men. 

I.    Usefulness  is  a  duty. 

It  is  the  end  which  the  Lord  has  in  view 
in  calling  us  to  be  His  disciples.  He  teaches 
us  that  we  may  teach  others ;  blesses  us  that 
we  may  bless  others. 

This  method  may  be  traced  through  all 
history.  Israel  received  a  holy  calling  as  a 
nation,  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  in  order  to 
be  as  salt  among  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
maintaining  a  witness  for  the  true  God  and 
His  law  of  righteousness.  Then  within  that 
chosen  nation  prophets  and  holy  men  were 
especially  taught  and  favoured  in  order  that 
they  might  be  as  salt  to  their  own  country- 
men, and  preserve  them  from  apostasy.  On 
the  same  principle  the  Church  was  made  as 
salt  to  the  world,  and  the  pious  in  the  Church 
as  salt  to  the  Christian  community  itself,  to 
save  it  from  decay. 

Long  and  severe  was  the  struggle  between 
the  Christian  salt  and  the  corruption  of  the 
Roman  world,  and  many  grew  weary  of  the 


SALT.  9 

process  and  withdrew.  They  fled  to  the  deserts 
and  to  lonely  caves  in  order  to  save  their  own 
souls,  as  they  supposed,  and  to  preserve  their 
piety  in  seclusion.  Thus  arose  the  Cenobite 
and  monastic  system,  which  committed  the 
error  of  separating  the  salt  from  the  substance 
which  it  was  meant  to  cure,  ultimately  setting 
up  "religious  houses"  with  closed  doors  and 
barred  windows,  instead  of  religious  house- 
holds in  the  midst  of  society,  shedding  a 
bright  and  healthy  influence  on  every  side. 
The  result  of  this  mistake  was  that  the  earth 
again  became  corrupt,  and  the  salt  itself  lost 
much  of  its  strength  and  savour. 

Protestantism  has  abolished  monastic  estab- 
lishments, but  it  has,  as  yet,  failed  to  impress 
Christian  people,  in  anything  like  a  sufficient 
degree,  with  the  obligation  of  usefulness,  or  to 
train  them  for  the  discharge  of  such  an  oblio-a- 
tion.  All  that  seems  to  be  thought  needful 
by  many  a  Protestant  Christian  is  to  secure 
the  salvation  of  his  own  soul,  to  ascribe  this 
boon  to  the  grace  of  God,  and  to  contribute 
some  money  for  the  support  of  preachers  and 
missionaries  that  they  may  do  good.     There  is 


io  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

no  sufficient  persuasion  of  the  grand  fact  that 
all  who  are  blessed  in  Christ  are  intended  to 
bless  others ;  that  all  His  disciples,  in  private 
as  well  as  official  life,  are  seasoned  with  salt 
in  order  that  they  may  exert  a  wholesome 
influence  on  all  whom  they  reach  in  daily,  or 
even  in  occasional  intercourse. 

II.  The  great  secret  of  usefulness  is  goodness. 

It  is  a  favourite  saying  that  "  knowledge  is 
power ; "  and  in  many  directions  it  is  true. 
But  when  we  refer  to  the  energy  which  dif- 
fuses moral  health  and  resists  corruption,  the 
better  aphorism  is  that  "  goodness  is  power." 
He  is  a  benefactor  of  his  kind  who  does  right- 
eousness, shows  mercy,  and  makes  peace. 

Not  a  word  here  of  ritual.  Jesus  Christ 
laid  no  stress  on  ceremonial,  and  made  no 
allusion  to  mystic  prerogatives  to  be  vested  in 
a  priestly  order.  He  simply  taught  that  His 
followers,  as  subjects  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
ought  to  have  a  righteousness  exceeding  that 
which  was  vaunted  by  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees. He  enumerated  the  chief  properties  of 
a  Christian  character  or  soul  of  goodness,  and 


SALT.  ii 

proclaimed  that  all  who  through  grace  acquire 
such  a  character  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  and 
the  light  of  the  world.  The  emphasis  is  laid 
not  on  saying,  or  even  on  doing,  but  on  being. 
The  first  rule  for  Christian  usefulness  is  to  be 
out  and  out  a  good  Christian.  It  is  possible 
for  one  to  talk  admirably  yet  fail  to  persuade, 
and  to  do  many  things  about  the  Church  and 
charitable  institutions,  or,  as  the  modern 
fashion  is,  sit  on  many  committees,  and  yet 
accomplish  very  little  good,  because  his  own 
spiritual  life  is  weak  and  uncertain.  He  has 
not  enough  of  salt  in  himself,  and  nothing  can 
compensate  for  the  deficiency  in  that  pungent 
element.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  way  of 
usefulness  lies  open  to  every  man,  woman,  or 
child  that  acquires,  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  type  of  intrinsic  character  which 
our  Lord  delineated  in  the  seven  Beatitudes. 
Such  salt  is  good,  and  he  who  has  it  cannot 
pass  through  life  useless  or  insignificant. 

III.   The  faculty  for  usefulness  may  decay. 
Our  Saviour  warned   the  disciples   against 
losing  the  savour  of  salt. 


12  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

Those  who  heard  Him  could  be  at  no  loss 
to  understand  the  phrase.  They  were  aware 
that  the  salt  of  Syria,  when  long  exposed  to 
sun  and  air  and  rain,  became  quite  insipid. 
Various  travellers  have  reported  on  this  in 
modern  times.  And  such  spoilt  salt  is  good 
for  nothing.  It  must  not  be  thrown  on  land, 
for  it  would  blight  its  fertility.  Nothing  can 
be  done  with  it,  but  to  lay  it  as  a  sort  of 
rough  gravel  on  the  roads,  where  it  is  trodden 
under  foot.  So  useless  are  those  Christians 
who  lose  the  savour  of  goodness  and  wisdom 
from  on  high,  having  a  form  of  o-odliness  with- 
out  the  power. 

For  Churches,  relapse  is  no  imaginary  danger. 
History  tells  too  sad  a  tale  to  the  contrary. 
What  did  Christ-refusing  Judaism  become  on 
the  earth  but  salt  without  savour,  which  the 
stern  besom  of  the  Eoman  army  swept  out 
into  the  street  or  world's  thoroughfare  to  be 
trodden  down  ?  What  was  the  future  of  those 
congregations,  formed  of  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
which  are  addressed  in  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  and  those  in  the  province  of  Asia  to 
which   seven   messages   are    directed   in    the 


SALT.  13 

Book  of  Eevelation  %  They  lost  their  savour 
by  admitting  corruptions  of  faith  and  life,  and 
letting  their  first  love  wane ;  so  that  they 
were  rejected,  and  some  of  them  were  swept 
out  by  the  ruthless  besom  of  the  Moslem,  as 
so  much  spoilt,  insipid  salt.  Three  hundred 
years  ago,  the  Reformed  Churches  were  a 
wholesome  and  pungent  salt  in  the  West,  but 
in  nearly  all  of  them  defection  followed.  Some 
have  tended  to  unbelief,  others  to  superstition, 
and  in  these  the  power  of  goodness  has  decayed. 
It  is  a  question  whether  they  retain  enough, 
or  can  regain  enough,  of  savour  through 
God's  mercy  to  fulfil  the  chief  end  of  their 
existence,  or  whether  other  and  more  faithful 
Churches  must  be  formed  to  save  the  nations 
from  the  ungodliness,  selfishness,  secularism, 
and  anarchy  which  seriously  threaten  them. 

The  danger  which  is  so  evident  on  the  laro-e 
scale  is  a  real  one  for  individual  Christians  too. 
These  may  bless  a  whole  community  by  their 
quiet  influence  and  unobtrusive  example  of 
virtue  in  the  fear  of  God.  But,  alas  !  if  their 
salt  lose  its  saltness  !  And  what  is  this  but 
that  men  once  wise  grow  foolish  ;  once  devout, 


H  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

grow  negligent  of  prayer ;  once  zealous,  grow 
lukewarm  ;  once  generous,  grow  stingy  ;  once 
humble,  grow  vain ;  once  gentle,  grow  harsh 
and  arrogant  ?  Can  any  one  say  that  such 
declension  never  occurs  ?  And  if  the  case 
does  occur,  what  can  be  more  useless  than 
such  a  Christian  ?  He  is  less  profitable  to 
God  and  man  than  the  most  raw  and  ignorant 
beginner,  who,  if  he  blunder  ever  so  much, 
is  at  all  events  fresh  and  sincere.  And  for  the 
unfaithful  disciple  himself,  how  dark  the  pros- 
pect !  Backsliding,  it  is  true,  may  be  healed, 
and  a  heart  that  has  cooled  towards  Christ 
may  be  warmed  again  ;  but,  while  a  sudden 
fall  under  strong  temptation  is  often  promptly 
remedied  by  Divine  grace  to  the  penitent, 
nothing  is  more  difficult  than  the  permanent 
recovery  of  those  who  have  gradually  and 
wilfully  fallen  away  and  lost  savour.  We  do 
not  say  that  even  this  is  impossible  with  God;, 
but  it  is  so  precarious  a  thing  that  every  one 
should  beware  of  the  first  symptoms  of  moral 
and  spiritual  declension,  lest  they  bring  him 
to  shame,  as  so  much  spoilt  salt,  fit  for 
nothing  but  to  be  trodden  under  foot. 


SALT.  15 

We  may  depend  on  it  that  the  Lord  would 
not  have  spoken  superfluous  warnings.  A 
wise  disciple,  hearing  the  caution  against  salt 
losing  its  savour,  will  not  cry,  "  ]STo  fear  of  this 
ever  being  true  of  me  !  "  but  rather  ask  softly, 
"  Lord,  is  it  I  ? "  He  will  not  assert,  "  I  shall 
never  fail  in  my  Christian  love  and  earnest- 
ness!" but  rather  make  his  lowly  request, 
"  Grant,  Lord,  I  never  may  ! " 


(     i6    ) 


II. 
LIGHT.    . 

"  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  "Again  therefore  Jesus  spake 

A  city  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be       unto  them,  saying,  I  am  the  light 
hid.      Neither  do  men   light   a       0f  the  world :  he  that  fulioweth 
lamp,    and   put    it   under    the       me  shaU  not  walk  in  the  dark. 
bushel,  but  on  the  stand  ;  and  it       ness>  but  shall  have  the  ljght  of 
shineth  unto  all  that  are  in  the       life>.>_gT>  JoHN  viii>  I2> 
house.     Even  so  let   your  light 
shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
— St.  Matt.  v.  14-16. 

That  the  followers  of  Christ  are  "  the'  salt 
of  the  earth"  suggests  intrinsic  qualities  of 
wisdom  and  goodness.  That  they  are  "the 
lio-ht  of  the  world"  suowsts  their  extrinsic 
bearing  and  conduct.  The  reference  is  to  the 
openness  and  visibility  of  their  religious  life. 

It  may  be  a  question  how  far  the  human 
mind  of  Jesus  Christ  was  aware  of  the  extent 
of  the  world.  There  is  no  doubt  that  His 
hearers  had  a  very  inadequate  conception  of 
its  size  and   population.     But  the  Spirit  of 


LIGHT.  17 

wisdom  .whereby  all  His  words  were  guided 
had  no  such  limitation  ;  and  such  expressions 
as  "  light  of  the  world,"  "  God  so  loved  the 
world,"  were  expressly  intended  to  lead  forth 
the  disciples  into  wide  fields  of  thought  and 
sympathy,  and  to  prepare  the  Church  for  a 
range  of  usefulness  far  beyond  what  it  had 
entered  into  the  minds  of  Jews  or  Galileans 
to  conceive. 

I.  Jesus  Christ,  the  Light  of  the  World. 

It  was  in  sore  need  of  light  when  He  came. 
The  sages  and  moralists  of  the  most  advanced 
nations  had  not  so  much  lit  up  the  world 
as  sent  out  sparks  which  made  its  darkness 
visible.  In  Judea  lamps  had  been  lit  from 
heaven,  but  they  were  growing  very  dim. 
Fed  with  unholy  oil  by  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees,  they  were  going  out.  In  contrast 
with  these,  John  the  Baptist  was  a  lamp  that 
burned  and  shone.  Yet  he  was  not  the  light 
of  life,  but  only  a  herald  and  a  witness. 
"When  Jesus  appeared  the  True  Light  shone. 
Now  "  that  which  makes  manifest  is  licrbt : " 
and  so  Jesus   Christ  discovered  to  mankind 

B 


1 8  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

moral  truths  and  objects  of  which  the  world 
was  ignorant  or  regardless.  He  revealed  with 
a  heavenly  power  of  demonstration  the  father- 
hood of  God,  the  hitter  fountain  of  sin  in  the 
human  heart,  the  freeness  of  grace,  the  beauty 
of  humility,  and  the  righteousness  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven. 

Into  the  consideration  of  such  a  metaphor 
as  this  we  are  not  to  import  those  conceptions 
of  the  nature  and  laws  of  light  which  recent 
scientific  discoveries  have  supplied.  Our  Lord 
spoke  to  the  men  of  His  own  time  and  country 
so  that  they  might  understand  Him,  using 
popular  language  in  a  popular  sense.  Enough 
that  the  sun  is  to  mankind  the  grand  source 
and  centre  of  lisrht.  So  is  Jesus  Christ  no 
mere  lamp,  as  an  ordinary  sage  or  prophet 
might  be,  but  the  sun,  the  source  and  centre 
of  that  light  of  life  and  truth  which  is  beiug 
diffused  wherever  Christ  is  known  and  Chris- 
tians dwell. 

II.   Christians  the  light  of  the  world. 
This  is  because  Christ  lives  in  them,  and 
"  the  life  is  the  li^ht  of  men."     It  is  because 


LIGHT.  19 

they  learn  of  Him,  derive  from  Him,  and 
reflect  His  way  of  thought  and  feeling. 

This  expression  -has  been  illustrated  by 
reference  to  the  face  of  Moses,  which  shone 
after  his  converse  with  Jehovah,  or  to  the 
reflection  of  light  from  burnished  mirrors 
flashing  in  the  sun.  But  the  reference  made 
by  our  Lord  to  the  house-lamps,  so  familiar  to 
all  His  audience,  yields  a  better  and  simj^ler 
explanation.  Only  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  fire  is  caught  from  a  heavenly  fire, 
the  light  from  a  heavenly  light.  And  then 
the  lamp  sheds  its  quiet  lustre  on  all  that  are 
in  the  house — i.e.,  the  Christian  shows  some- 
thing of  Christ  to  the  family  and  social  circle 
around. 

He  must  do  so.  When  the  lamp  is  lit, 
it  must  shine.  When  a  city  is  set  on  a  hill, 
it  has  no  option  as  to  visibility.  Christians 
are  under  a  sort  of  moral  compulsion  to  shine 
as  lights  in  the  world.  Yet  it  is  necessary 
to  have  the  conscience  exercised  and  the  will 
directed  by  the  Lord's  command.  Let  your 
lisjhfc  shine. 

In  every,  even  the  poorest,  house  in  Galilee, 


20  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

a  lamp  was  set  on  a  stand  which  rested  on 
the  floor,  and  was  lit  when  the  sun  went  down. 
It  sufficed  for  all  the  household.  There  was 
also  in  every  house  a  corn  measure,  called 
in  the  English  New  Testament  "  the  bushel," 
though  it  was  in  size  nearer  an  English  peck. 
Every  one  therefore  caught  the  idea  when 
Jesus  pointed  out  how  perverse  and  absurd 
it  would  be  to  set  the  lamp  under  the  corn 
measure.     Its  place  was  on  the  stand. 

And  such  is  the  place  assigned  by  God 
to  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  It  is  He  who  lights 
every  lamp,  i.e.,  who  enlightens  every  indivi- 
dual Christian  ;  and  so  it  is  His  prerogative  to 
place  the  lamp  where  it  will  give  most  light, 
i.e.,  to  appoint  to  the  individual  Christian 
a  post  and  sphere  of  usefulness.  If  any  one 
tries  to  contravene  this  appointment,  pre- 
ferring to  keep  such  light  as  he  has  for 
his  own  comfort  within  his  breast,  he  resists 
the  revealed  will  of  God.  If  he  persists  in 
this  selfishness,  his  penalty  is  sure.  The 
light  that  is  in  him  will  wax  dim  and  incur 
great  risk  of  going  out,  because  it  is  shut 
up,  and  not  set  to  burn  on  the  lamp-stand, 


LIGHT.  21 

where  the  fresh  air  may  reach  and  feed  the 
flame. 

In  the  early  Christian  centuries  there  was 
strong  temptation  to  hide  the  light :  and  for 
such  an  ordeal  Christ  fortified  His  disciples  in 
the  words,  "  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall 
reproach  you  and  persecute  you."  But  it 
must  have  required  no  small  faith  and  fortitude 
to  confess  the  name  of  Christ  in  the  face  of 
the  world's  hatred  and  contempt.  It  demanded 
the  same  type  of  holy  courage  as  nerved  the 
soul  of  Daniel  when  he  knew  that  the  decree 
was  signed  dooming  every  man  of  prayer  to 
the  lions'  den,  and  yet  at  his  open  window 
"  kneeled  upon  his  knees  three  times  a  day, 
and  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his  God, 
as  he  did  aforetime;"  or  as  enabled  " Peter 
and  John,"  when  arraigned  before  the  Council 
which  had  condemned  their  Master,  to  pro- 
claim His  name  before  those  "rulers  of  the 
people  and  elders  of  Israel."  But  God  gave 
such  courage  to  thousands  of  martyrs,  so  that 
the  light  was  never  extinguished  even  in  the 
days  of  heaviest  persecution.  And  He  will 
o-ive  it  in  the  future  as  He  has  given  it  in 


22  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

the  past ;  for  -we  have  not  yet  arrived  at  the 
end  of  pitiless  persecution  for  the  name  of 
Christ. 

Even  in  communities  that  ring  with  boasts 
of  freedom  and  praises  of  charity,  earnest 
Christianity  is  still  maltreated  and  reviled. 
Men  are  laughed  at  and  stigmatised  as  pre- 
tentious hypocrites  if  they  raise  ever  so 
modest  a  testimony  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  nothing  to  the  ordeal  through  which 
many  of  the  martyrs  passed  ;  and  yet  it  is  no 
slight  trial  to  endure  ridicule  and  misjudg- 
meut  from  one's  equals  and  neighbours,  and 
that  for  doing  what  the  Lord  has  commanded 
— letting  the  light  shine. 

Among  cultivated  people  especially  there  is 
a  singular  dread  of  anything  which  may  be 
called  very  pronounced  in  religion.  Persons 
who  are  not  averse  to  make  all  the  show  they 
can  in  social  life  are  wonderfully  sensitive 
about  any  disclosure  of  spiritual  conviction 
or  feeling,  object  to  go  beyond  a  carefully 
measured  form  of  words  in  religion,  and  would 
rather  be  taken  for  hesitating  than  for  un- 
hesitating and  earnest  Christians.     Now  there 


LIGHT.  23 

never  was  a  religious  teacher  who  inveighed 
more  strongly  than  Jesus  Christ  did  against 
the  temper  of  ostentation  and  the  plague 
of  unreal  professions  of  godliness ;  but  while 
He  denounced  the  pretentious  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  and  Himself  wore  no  phylactery, 
was  content  to  have  the  blue  ed^e  of  His 
dress  of  the  ordinary  width,  and  preferred 
praying  apart  on  a  mountain  to  praying  in 
all  men's  sight  at  the  corners  of  the  streets, 
He  was  the  most  open  and  fearless  witness 
for  God  in  all  the  land.  So  should  His  fol- 
lowers be,  whatever  their  worldly  rank  or 
station  ;  no  Pharisees,  no  seekers  of  religious 
notoriety  for  themselves,  but  frank,  natural, 
courageous,  avowed  witnesses  to  and  servants 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

The  figure  of  the  House-lamp  suggests  do- 
mestic Christianity  ;  that  of  the  conspicuous 
city  the  more  public  and  collective  duty  of 
Christians. 

Domestic  Christianity  !  Home  religion  ! 
Is  there  anything  more  needed  ?  It  is  a 
mere  mockery  of  this  to  have  a  house  full 
of    vanity   and    discord,    but    with    a    daily 


24  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

routine  of  family  prayer.  In  two  of  his 
most  profound  and  eloquent  epistles,  St. 
Paul,  proceeding  from  doctrine  to  practice, 
exhorts  to  family  religion  ;  and  his  direc- 
tions are  these  :  "  Husbands,  love  your  wives, 
and  be  not  bitter  against  them."  "  "Wives, 
submit  yourselves  to  your  own  husbands,  as 
it  is  fit  in  the  Lord."  "Parents,  bring  up 
your  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord."  "  Children,  obey  your  parents 
in  the  Lord,  for  this  is  right."  "Masters, 
give  to  your  servants  that  which  is  just  and 
equal."  "  Servants,  obey  in  all  things  your 
masters  according  to  the  flesh."  In  such 
unostentatious  performance  of  mutual  duties 
does  the  house-lamp  for  Christ  most  brightly 
shine ;  and  in  such  a  household  of  love  and 
justice  there  is  sweet  concord.  Darkness 
and  tempest  go  together;  so  do  light  and 
peace. 

The  city  on  a  hill,  where  it  catches  the 
strong  sunshine,  is  seen  far  and  wide  over 
the  plains ;  and  this  suggests  the  collective 
testimony  of  Christians.  The  Church  which 
they   form    has    this    for    its    lofty   ideal, — 


LIGHT.  25 

a  city  which  has  the  glory  of  God  and  shines 
afar.  Would  that  every  particular  Church  were 
found  thus  telling  on  the  surrounding  popula- 
tion, and  lighting  up  a  whole  region  with  a 
heavenly  sheen !  It  may  be  the  invisible 
Church  as  respects  the  secret  of  its  life,  power, 
and  endurance  in  God ;  but  it  should  be 
visible  in  its  influence  on  society  and  its 
benevolent  activities — "  a  city  that  cannot 
be  hid." 

"VVe  have  seen  that  God  places  every  lamp 
which  He  lights  on  some  stand  that  it  may 
shine  to  good  purpose.  It  is,  therefore,  a 
sin  against  God  to  let  cowardice  or  fastidi- 
ousness  cover,  or  even  half  conceal,  what  was 
meant  for  manifestation.  Add  to  this  the 
positive  statement  of  our  Saviour  to  the 
effect  that  through  the  shining  of  Chris- 
tians  in  the  world  their  Father  in  heaven 
is  glorified.  He  would  have  all  those  who, 
receiving  the  adoption  of  sons,  become 
His  brethren,  to  live,  as  He  did,  with  this 
chief  end  in  view — to  glorify  the  Father ; 
not  only  to  please  Him,  but  to  draw  the 
admiring   and    adoring   thoughts    of  men    to 


26  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

that  Heavenly  Father  who  is  light,  and  in 
whom  there  is  no  darkness  at  all.  No  glory 
to  the  lamp !  All  praise  and  honour  to  Him 
who  has  lightened  our  darkness,  and  deigns 
to  use  us  to  lighten  the  darkness  of  the 
world ! 

The  "good  works"  which  our  Lord  expects 
and  requires  of  all  the  children  of  the  light  are 
not  laborious  efforts  of  self-righteous  men  to 
secure  their  own  salvation,  but  the  works  of 
faith  and  labours  of  love  which  proceed  from 
men  whom  grace  has  saved — the  appropriate 
manifestations  of  a  renewed  heart  in  temper, 
word,  and  action.  They  indicate  the  whole 
course  of  conduct  which  becomes  the  sons  of 
God,  and  by  which  they  shed  abroad  the  light 
of  goodness  and  truth.  They  are  not  to  do 
good  in  order  to  be  seen  and  commended  by 
their  fellow-men,  but  they  are  to  do  good  that 
may  be  seen,  that  cannot  but  be  seen,  in  order 
that  their  Father  in  heaven  may  be  glorified. 

Wanted,  much  wanted,  bright  Christians  ! 
Wanted  for  the  glory  of  God,  for  the  convic- 
tion of  the  world  and  silencing  of  gainsayers, 
who  allege  that  Christianity  has  grown  dim 


LIGHT.  27 

and  feeble !  Wanted  more  frequent  and  in- 
disputable examples  of  life  actuated  by  high 
motives  and  lustrous  with  the  heavenly  light 
of  faith  and  love ! 


(      23     ) 


III. 


TREA  SURE, 


"Sell  that  ye  have,  and  give 
alms  ;  make  for  yourselves  purses 
which  wax  not  old,  a  treasuro 
in  the  heavens  that  faileth  not, 
where  no  thief  draweth  near, 
neither  moth  destroyeth.  For 
where  your  treasure  is,  there 
will  your  heart  be  also." — ST. 
Luke  xii.  33,  34. 


"Lay  not  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  upon  the  earth,  where 
moth  and  rust  doth  consume, 
aud  where  thieves  break  through 
and  steal :  but  lay  up  for  your- 
selves treasures  iu  heaven,  where 
neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  con- 
sume, and  where  thieves  do  not 
break  through  nor  steal :  for 
where  thy  treasure  is,  there  will 
thy  heart  be  also." — St.  Matt. 
vi.  19-21. 


Treasures  on  earth  and  treasures  in  heaven. 
The  Lord's  reference  to  the  former  is  not 
metaphorical ;  they  are  actual,  visible,  and 
taugible  objects  of  desire.  No  doubt,  under 
the  general  term  treasures,  may  be  embraced 
earthly  fame,  rank,  influence,  and  popularity, 
on  all  of  which  men  are  prone  to  set  too  high 
a  value ;  but  the  language  of  Christ  points 
directly  to  riches,  which  an  Oriental  was  apt 
to  invest  in  stores  of  costly  raiment,  or  to 


TREASURE.  29 

hoard  in  the  form  of  gold  and  jewels  and 
precious  vessels  hidden  in  his  house  or  under 
ground. 

"  Treasure  not  such  treasures,"  He  said  to 
His  disciples.  "  Sell  that  ye  have  and  give 
alms."  This  was  new  doctrine,  for  the  Phari- 
sees, the  most  prominently  religious  men  in  the 
country,  were  covetous,  and  seemed  to  find  no 
difficulty  in  serving  both  God  and  mammon. 

Here  is  no  condemnation  of  money  or  cen- 
sure of  those  who  grow  rich.  Christ  lays  on 
His  followers  no  vow  of  poverty,  nor  may  His 
great  name  be  cited  in  support  of  communistic 
plans  for  compelling  a  distribution  of  wealth. 
What  He  has  condemned  is  the  treasuring  of 
earthly  possessions  as  if  they  were  the  only 
true  riches  and  the  highest  good.  They  are  not 
so,  because  they  are  earthly,  and  meet  only 
temporal  wants.  They  cannot  be  so,  because 
they  are  uncertain  and  perishable.  A  little 
moth  might  eat  away  the  costly  silks  and  em- 
broideries of  the  opulent  Jew.  A  thief  might 
break  through  the  clay  wall  of  the  house,  or 
dig  down  to  the  hiding-place,  and  make  away 
with  all  the  vessels  of  curious  workmanship 


30  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and   the   bags    full   of  precious    stones    and 
metals. 

Modern  Western  modes  of  keeping  and  in- 
vesting money  are  different,  but  losses  and 
disappointments  are  not  prevented.  Reverses 
of  fortune  are  as  common  now  as  in  any  past 
age  of  the  world.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to 
let  the  desire  of  high  interest  and  rapid  accu- 
mulation tempt  one  into  an  investment  which 
cannot  be  called  a  security  except  in  irony; 
or,  after  acquiring  a  sum  of  money  by  patient 
industry,  to  put  it  in  unsafe  hands  and  lose  it 
all  at  once  through  the  fraud  or  default  of 
others.  Alas  for  those  who  "  trust  in  uncer- 
tain riches ! "  In  this  life  how  are  their 
hearts  choked  with  cares  of  this  world  !  And 
at  death,  how  poor  they  are  !  They  carry 
nothing  with  them. 

We  mark  our  contempt  for  a  man  who  is 
infatuated  about  the  possession  of  money  by 
calling  him  miser  ;  i.e.,  wretch.     Pope  says — 

"  Pale  Mammon  pines  amidst  his  store."  * 

Spenser  represents  him  as  an  "uncouth  wight," 
"sitting  in  secret  shade  " — 

*  Mo  al  Essays,  iii. 


TREASURE.  3I 

"  And  in  his  lap  a  mass  of  coin  he  told 
And  turned  upside  down,  to  feed  his  eye 
And  covetous  desire  with  his  huge  treasury.'-"* 

Iii  one  of  the  best  of  his  essays  Montaigne 
tells  how  a  passion  for  hoarding  money  pos- 
sessed  him   at   one   period    of  his   life,    and 
plunged  him  in  continual  solicitude.     "  After 
you  have  once  set  your  heart  upon  your  heap 
it  is  no  more  at  your  service ;  you  cannot  find 
in  your  heart  to  break  it ;  'tis  a  building  that 
you  fancy  must  of  necessity  all  tumble  down 
to   ruin   if  you  stir  but  the   least  pebble."! 
As   to    the   blindness  of  the  money-lover  to 
spiritual  concerns,  how  graphic  is  the  picture 
of  a  miser  in   the  second  part  of  the  "  Pil- 
grim's  Progress!"      The  Interpreter   showed 
to  Christiana  and   her  company  a  man  who 
"  could  look  no  way  but  downwards,"  with  a 
muck-rake  in  his   hand.      "There  stood  also 
one  over  his  head  with  a  celestial  crown  in 
his  hand,  and  proffered  him   that   crown  for 
his  muck-rake  ;  but  this  man  did  neither  look 
up  nor  regard,  but  raked  to  himself  the  straws, 
small  sticks,  and  dust  of  the  floor."     The  In- 

*  Faerie  Queene,  cant.  vii.  f    Essays,  chap.  rL 


32  ,  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

terpreter  explained — "  Earthly  things,  when 
they  are  with  power  upon  men's  minds,  quite 
carry  their  hearts  away  from  God.  Then 
said  Christiana,  '  Oh  deliver  me  from  this 
muck-rake  ! ' "  * 

It  is  very  difficult  to  cure  a  man  on  whom 
the  passion  for  earthly  treasure  has  taken 
hold.  He  will  listen  to  ever  so  many  demon- 
strations of  the  folly  and  evil  of  covetousness, 
culled  from  literature  and  from  observation 
of  the  world,  but  he  will  not  depart  from  it. 
In  fact,  nothing  will  accomplish  the  cure  of 
covetousness  but  the  expulsive  power  of  a 
new  affection.  A  man  who  is  risen  with  Christ 
has  such  an  affection,  and  seeks  those  things 
which  are  above. 

According  to  our  Lord's  metaphor,  His  fol- 
lowers are  to  treasure  up  treasures  in  heaven. 
This  cannot  mean  to  wish  for  high  seats  in 
heaven,  with  great  lustre  and  distinction  for 
themselves,  for  such  desires'  may  indicate  no- 
thing more  than  a  new  form  of  selfishness. 
The  treasure  must  be  of  a  more  spiritual  char- 
acter, and  such  as  a  lowly  heart  may  crave. 

*  Pilgrim's  Progress,  part  ii.. 


TREASURE.  33 

It  must  be  riches  towards  God  and  in  God.  It 
must  mean  the  satisfaction  of  longino-s  of  the 
human  spirit  which  the  world  cannot  meet. 
It  must  be  treasure  of  a  calm  conscience  and 
a  holy  mind,  resting  in  the  love  of  God  and 
sustained  by  the  fellowship  of  the  Spirit. 

The  portion  of  the  wise  deserves  to  be  called 
treasure  because  it  is  (i.)  so  precious,  (2.)  in 
such  safe  keeping,  and  (3.)  capable  of  indefinite 
increase. 

1.  Precious  is  this  treasure,  as  meeting  not 
the  fancy  of  a  day  or  even  the  wants  of  the 
passing  years,  but  the  most  profound  require- 
ments of  the  human  soul,  and  that,  too,  when 
Divine  regenerating  grace  has  made  it  capable 
of  eternal  life  and  joy. 

2.  Secure  is  this  treasure,  as  laid  up  in 
heaven  above  the  risk  of  loss.  And  there  the 
inheritance  is  not  only  uncorrupted,  but  in- 
corruptible; not  only  bright,  but  unfading; 
not  only  settled,  but  inalienable. 

3.  Capable  of  indefinite  increase  is  this 
treasure.  St.  Paul  has  spoken  of  infatuated 
men,  "who,  after  their  hardness  and  impeni- 
tence, treasure  up  for  themselves  wrath  in  the 


34  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God."  That  woeful  treasure,  that 
evil  portion,  is  capable  of  increase.  Opposite 
to  these,  however,  the  Apostle  places  men  who 
"  by  patience  in  well-doing  seek  for  glory, 
honour,  and  incorruption."  These  are  the 
heirs  of  eternal  life.*  And  according  to  the 
measure  of  patience  and  wrell-doing  is  the  ac- 
cumulation of  treasure  in  heaven. 

Are  we  then,  after  all,  to  earn  our  own 
salvation  ?  What  has  become  of  the  doctrine 
of  free  grace  ?  The  answer  is,  that  when  our 
Lord  spoke  of  laying  up  treasure,  He  was  not 
treating  of  the  justification  of  the  ungodly,  or 
the  entrance  on  a  state  of  salvation  which  is 
entirely  of  grace  and  not  of  works,  lest  any 
man  should  boast.  He  spoke  of  the  amount 
of  blesseduess  and  degree  of  glory  which  men 
who  are  saved  by  grace  are  to  obtain  in 
heaven,  and  such  amount  or  degree  will  be  the 
reward  of  faithful  service,  the  treasure  accumu- 
lated by  patient  well-doing.  It  is  a  gracious 
reward,  but  it  is  a  reward,  and  proportioned 
to  the  earthly  obedience.     So  among  men,  who 

*  Homans  ii.  5-7. 


TREASURE.  35 

are  alike  saved  by  grace,  there  will  be  inequali- 
ties hereafter,  as  there  are  here  and  now.  One 
has  a  smaller,  another  a  greater  treasure  in 
heaven. 

Alas  !  how  little  is  heaven  in  the  thoughts 
of  men !  how  little  in  their  hearts  I  Yet 
almost  every  one  seems  to  thiuk  that,  if  there 
be  a  future  state,  he  will  somehow  go  to 
heaven.  Heaven  without  a  heavenward-tend- 
ing miud  !  The  prize  of  the  high  calling  with- 
out running  for  it,  or  denying  one's  self  in 
anything  to  obtain  it !  A  vain  confidence  ! 
When  a  man's  heart  is  keen  for  earthly  suc- 
cess or  covered  with  the  dust  of  worldly  care, 
what  treasure  can  he  have  in  heaven  ?  Where 
the  treasure  is,  the  heart  is  also ;  and  where 
the  heart  is,  there  the  treasure,  if  there  be 
any,  will  be  found. 

In  the  year  1699,  Dr.  South  preached  on 
this  theme  before  the  University  of  Oxford. 
The  sermon  appears  in  his  works  under  the 
title,  "  No  man  ever  went  to  heaven  whose 
heart  was  not  there  before,"  and  is  worth 
reading.     It    ends    with    a    lamentation   over 


36  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

"  the  extreme  vanity  of  most  men's  professions 
of  religion."  "  We  may  with  great  boldness 
affirm  that  if  men  would  be  at  half  the  pains 
to  provide  themselves  treasures  in  heaven 
which  they  are  generally  at  to  get  estates 
here  on  earth,  it  were  impossible  for  any  to 
be  damned.  But,  when  we  come  to  earthly 
matters,  we  do ;  when  to  heavenly,  we  only 
discourse.  Heaven  has  our  tongue's  talk,  but 
the  earth  our  whole  man  besides." 

It  may  be  a  safe  and  prudent  prayer  in 
regard  to  temporal  things,  "  Give  me  neither 
poverty  nor  riches,"  *  but  in  things  spiritual 
we  may  pray,  "  Give  me  both  poverty  and 
riches."  Let  me  have  poverty  of  spirit,  and, 
at  the  call  of  God,  buy  the  wine  and  milk 
of  the  gospel  "  without  money  and  without 
price."  So  let  me  be  rich  in  the  love  of  Christ 
which  passes  knowledge.  "  The  Lord  is  my 
portion,  saith  my  soul ; "  and  heaven  is  my 
treasure-house.  The  disappointments  of  this 
present  time  and  place  have  their  compensa- 
tion there.     Works  of  faith  and  deeds  of  mercy 

*  Proverbs  xxx.  8. 


TREASURE.  37 

have  their  recompense  there.  Self-denial  has 
its  hundred-fold  reward  ;  and  afflictions  for 
the  cause  of  Christ  and  of  righteousness  meet 
not  consolation  only,  but  "  an  eternal  weight 
of  glory." 


(    3§    ) 


IV. 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM. 


"  And  why  behol Jest  thou  the 
mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye, 
but  considerest  not  the  beam 
that  is  in  thine  own  eye?  Or 
how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother, 
Let  me  cast  out  the  mote  out  of 
thine  eye  ;  and  lo,  the  beam  is  in 
thine  own  eye?  Thou  hypocrite, 
cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of 
thine  own  eye  ;  and  then  shalt 
thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the 
mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye.:' 
—St.  Matt.  vii.  3-5. 


"  And  why  beholdest  thou  the 
mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye, 
but  considerest  not  the  beam  that 
is  in  thine  own  eye?  Or  how 
canst  thou  say  to  thy  brother. 
Brother,  let  me  cast  out  the  mote 
that  is  in  thine  eye,  when  thou 
thyself  beholdest  not  the  beam 
that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ?  Thou 
hypocrite,  cast  out  first  the  beam 
out  of  thine  own  eye,  and  then 
shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out 
the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's 
eye." — St.  Luke  vi.  41,  42. 


The  Lord  Jesus  exposed  the  prevailing  faults 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  showed  His 
disciples  that  they  should  be  quite  otherwise 
minded.  They  should  not  be  covetous  of 
earthly  gain,  but  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven. 
They  should  not  be  ostentatious,  but  pray 
secretly  and  give  alms  modestly.  They  should 
not  be  censorious,  but  be  just  and  charitable 
in  their  estimate  of  others. 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM.  39 

On  this  last  point  the  Heavenly  Teacher 
was  earnest  and  explicit.  We  sometimes  hear 
harsh  judgments  justified  on  the  ground  that 
those  who  form  and  express  them  know  human 
nature  well,  and  the  unvarnished  realities  of 
life.  But  here  speaks  One  who  had  the  most 
absolute  knowledge  of  what  is  in  man,  and 
could  judge  unerringly  of  actions  and  their 
motives,  and  His  counsel  is  to  beware  of 
magnifying  the  faults  of  our  neighbours,  or 
indulging  in  harsh  and  hasty  censures.  To 
impress  this  lesson  He  used  an  illustration  so 
apt  that  it  has  become  one  of  the  household 
phrases  of  Christendom.  Indeed,  many  use  it 
who  scarcely  know  wrhence  it  is  derived. 

No  one  disputes  that  men  who  love  right- 
eousness must  take  note  of  unrighteous  con- 
duct,  and  must  regard  it  with  pain  and  dis- 
approval. No  one  disputes,  every  one  holds, 
that  good  men  ought  to  take  cognisance  of 
the  evil  which  is  in  the  world,  in  order  to 
track  it  to  its  sources  and  endeavour  to  apply 
correctives  and  remedies.  The  question  now 
raised  is  about  the  temper  in  which  this  ought 
to  be  done,  the  clearness  of  the  moral  vision 


40  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  the  integrity  and  kindness  of  the  moral 
purpose. 

Jesus  insisted  on  clearness  of  moral  percep- 
tion when  He  described  the  eye  as  "  the  lamp 
of  the  body,"  and  laid  emphasis  on  its  single- 
ness.   Covetousness  and  all  unbelieving  anxiety 

f 

about  things  temporal  were  to  be  shunned, 
because  such  feelings  confused  the  eye  of  the 
mind.  The  same  thins:  is  true  of  a  censorious 
disposition.  It  usually  implies,  and  always 
fosters,  self-ignorance  and  self-conceit.  And 
the  Lord  so  illustrated  this  as  to  bring  out 
the  unreasonable  and  even  ludicrous  aspect  of 
Pharisaic  censures.  Two  men  meet,  the  one 
of  whom  has  his  eye  almost  closed  by  a  large 
fragment  of  wood,  here  called  the  beam,  while 
the  other  has  got  a  small  chip  of  wood  in  his 
eye.  The  word  "  mote"  is  well  enough  as  in- 
dicating a  very  small  size,  but  suggests  dust, 
whereas  it  belongs  to  the  aptness  of  the  illus- 
tration that  the  obstruction  to  vision  is  of  the 
same  material  in  both  men,  but  in  the  one 
very  large,  in  the  other  comparatively  trifling. 
Yet  he  who  is  scarcely  able  to  see  anything 
accurately    because   of  the  wood  in   his   eye, 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM.  41 

beholds  or  stares  at  the  eye  of  his  brother, 
and  proposes  to  remove  that  little  chip — an 
operation  on  a  most  sensitive  organ  of  the 
body,  which  would  require  clear  vision  and  a 
steady  hand.  The  thing  would  be  absurd ; 
those  who  heard  our  Saviour  put  the  case  in 
this  way  must  have  been  moved  as  we  are 
when  we  hear  some  blatant  assumption  pierced 
by  a  delicate  sarcasm. 

The  case  lias  only  to  be  stated  in  order  to 
carry  the  inference  that  he  who  has  the  large 
obstruction  in  his  eye  should  first  get  rid  of 
it,  so  that  he  may  be  fit  to  operate  on  his 
brother's  eye.  In  other  words,  a  man  should 
have  his  own  errors  and  faults  corrected,  in 
order  that  he  may  be  able  first  to  see  clearly, 
and  then  to  correct  firmly  and  wisely  the 
errors  and  faults  of  others. 

I.  It  is  a  delicate  operation  to  correct  the 
faults  of  other  men. 

It  may  be  like u eel  to  the  feat  of  taking  a  chip 
of  wood,  a  hair,  or  an  insect's  wing  out  of  an 
inflamed  eye.  A  clumsy  operator  may  easily 
make  things  worse.    So  may  a  clumsy  or  unkind 


42  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

censor  offend  his  brother,  and  do  no  good,  but 
rather  harm.  All  the  greater  is  the  delicacy  if 
one  undertakes  the  task  as  a  volunteer.  One 
may  accept  reproof  from  a  person  whom  he 
regards  as  having;  a  right  to  advise  and  even 
to  rebuke,  such  as  a  parent  in  a  family  or  a 
pastor  in  a  Christian  flock ;  or  he  may  take 
it  well  from  a  private  friend  with  whom  he 
is  on  confidential  terms,  and  whose  counsel 
he  has  often  sought ;  and  yet  he  may  not 
be  at  all  willing;  to  have  his  faults  indicated 
and  handled  by  any  one  who  thinks  proper  to 
assume  the  function,  and  to  constitute  him- 
self a  fault-finder  and  fault-mender  to  society. 
It  is  only  under  an  imperative  sense  of  duty, 
and  even  then  wTith  the  greatest  diffidence, 
that  a  wise  and  humble  man  will  venture 
this  operation  on  one  who,  though  a  brother 
in  the  faith,  is  personally  a  stranger  to  him ; 
for,  even  in  the  most  favourable  instance,  the 
moral  function  which  is  attempted  is  a  diffi- 
cult one,  and  calls  not  only  for  a  fine  tact, 
but  also  for  much  self-knowledge  in  the 
operator,  and  much  charity. 

Something  might  be  said  here  of  the  risk 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM.  43 

tli at  attends  all  human  judgment  of  the  con- 
duct of  other  men.  It  is  not  often  that  one 
knows  accurately  and  completely  the  outward 
facts,  and  one  never  quite  knows  the  temp- 
tation resisted  or  yielded  to,  and  the  inward 
motive,  or  the  commanding  and  determiuins; 
one  among  a  group  of  motives,  which  in- 
fluenced the  action  under  review.  Considera- 
tions of  this  sort  ought  to  be  remembered  as 
a  corrective  to  severe  judgment  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  blind  admiration  on  the  other. 
But  this  is  not  the  point  before  us.  The  case 
supposed  is  one  of  visible  and  undeniable 
fault.  Still  it  is  a  delicate  task  to  judge  of 
it ;  it  is  a  difficult  operation  to  correct  or  re- 
move it.  It  is  of  no  use  to  gaze  at  it  with- 
out trying  to  put  it  away ;  and  he  who  would 
make  such  a  trial  needs  to  be  himself  £ood 
and  wise.  His  eye  must  be  clear,  his  con- 
science clean,  his  moral  vision  pure,  who 
would  see  how  to  mend  a  brother's  fault  or 
take  a  mote  out  of  a  brother's  eye. 

II.   Self -ignorance  and  self-conceit  incapa- 
citate one  for  performing  this  operation. 


44  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  faultiness  in  one's 
own  character  disables  him  as  a  critic  of  other 
men's  morality.  On  the  contrary,  most  ac- 
curate and  pungent  moral  strictures  may  pro- 
ceed from  men  who  are  quite  aware  that 
their  own  lives  will  not  bear  close  inspection. 
There  are  men  of  broken  character  and  bad 
habits  who,  writing  anonymously  for  the 
press,  show  a  keen,  perception  of  ethical  dis- 
tinctions, and  lash  the  vices  of  the  age  with 
much  vigour  and  effect.  Nay  more,  men  of 
the  worst  stamp  are  often  found  to  have 
a  wonderfully  sharp  eye  for  delinquencies 
on  the  part  of  their  Christian  neighbours, 
and  are  loud  in  condemnation  of  their 
shameful  inconsistency.  Such  persons,  it  is 
true,  care  little  for  the  correction  of  faults, 
but  they  see  them  clearly  enough  in  the  con- 
duct of  others,  and  exult  in  the  thought 
that  good  people  are  not  so  good  as  they 
seem. 

The  case  indicated  by  our  Lord  is  that  of 
one  who  is  insensible  of  his  own  faultiuess, 
yet  presumes  to  deal  with  the  faultiness  of 
others  ;   and  He  addresses  such  a  person  by 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM.  45 

the  strong  term  of  disapproval,  "  hypocrite," 
which  He  often  applied  to  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees.  Literally,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  one  who  had  even  a  small  chip  of  wood 
in  his  eye  to  be  unaware  of  it.  The  delicacy  . 
of  the  organ  would  produce  acute  annoyance. 
But,  alas  1  one  may  so  destroy  the  delicacy 
of  conscience  as  to  go  about  with  a  great 
fault  obvious  to  every  one,  and  yet  forget  it, 
and  suppose  that  no  one  else  can  see  it. 
"  Thou  considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in 
thine  own  eye."  Such  is  the  self-ignorance, 
begotten  of  pride,  or  rather  of  self-conceit, 
refusing  to  acknowledge  what  is  disagreeable 
or  discreditable — a  foolish  complacency  which 
deceives  no  one. 

If  one  thus  blind  to  his  own  faults  assumes 
to  be  a  censor  and  corrector  of  morals,  he  plays 
the  hypocrite  in  this  sense,  that  he  affects  to 
be  zealous  for  righteousness  and  impatient  of 
evil,  while  all  the  while  he  excuses  evil  in 
himself,  and  condemns  it  only  in  others.  It 
is  a  false  zeal  which  flies  at  extraneous  evil 
and  spares  that  which  is  in  our  own  homes, 
our   own   hearts   and   lives.      First    examine 


46  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  arraign  and  amend  thyself!     First  cast 
out  the  beam  from  thine  own  eye ! 

In  the  Canonical  Book  of  Buddha  there  is 
a  passage  which  exposes  the  same  self-excusing 
habit  that  our  Lord  condemns.  "  The  faults 
of  others  are  easily  perceived,  but  one's  own 
faults  it  is  difficult  to  perceive.  A  man  win- 
nows his  neighbour's  faults  like  chaff,  but  his 
own  faults  he  hides,  as  a  cheat  hides  the  bad 
dice  from  the  gambler."  # 

III.  An  honest  Christian  reserves  his  stric- 
test judgment  for  himself. 

Self-love  will  surest  excuses,  and  even 
tempt  a  man  to  ignore  his  own  faults,  or,  at  all 
events,  to  change  their  names ;  but  a  supreme 
love  of  righteousness,  such  as  ought  to  pos- 
sess the  Christian  mind,  keeps  conscience  at 
work,  and  enjoins  self-judgment  and  self-cor- 
rection. 

Then,  as  to  the  comparative  seriousness  of 
faults,  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  regard 
one's  own  misconduct  with  leniency,  though 

*  Quoted  in  Bishop  Titcomh's  "  Short  Chapters  on  Bud- 
dhism," p.  1 66. 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM.  47 

meting  out  a  bard  censure  to  similar  delin- 
quency  in  others.  Ours  is  the  mote  or  chip, 
and  our  neighbour's  is  the  beam.  But  when 
the  spirit  of  Christ  enters  into  us,  all  this  is 
changed.  Ours  is  the  beam  ;  our  iniquity  is 
great ;  our  fault  is  heinous.  We  know  what 
checks  and  warnings  we  have  had  to  keep  us 
from  it,  what  remonstrances  of  conscience,  and 
what  impulses  and  examples  to  counteract  the 
evil  temptation.  And  yet  we  are  at  fault. 
Nay,  we  have  persisted  in  what  we  know  to 
be  wrong  till  it  has  acquired  the  force  of  a 
habit,  neutralising  good,  and  unfitting  us  to 
exert  a  healthy  moral  and  religious  influence 
on  others.  The  beam  is  in  our  own  eye.  It 
is  our  neighbour  who  has  the  mote  or  chip. 

So  at  least  it  should  appear  to  us  in  the 
judgment  of  charity.  By  this  is  not  at  all 
meant  that  we  are  to  make  light  of  evil,  or 
out  of  good  nature  affect  not  to  see  what  is 
censurable.  It  is  not  charity,  but  a  morbid 
feebleness  of  the  moral  nature,  which  cannot 
bear  to  condemn  anything  but  strictness,  and 
glibly  excuses  or  lightly  tolerates  conduct  that 
is  vicious  or  dishonest.    Nothing  in  our  Lord's 


43  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

teaching  may  or  can  be  construed  into  a  sanc- 
tion of  that  species  of  leniency  which  makes  all 
its  allowance  on  the  dangerous  side.     On  the 
contrary,  it  is  required  by  our  loyalty  to  Him 
and  to  the  best  interests  of  society  that  we  en- 
deavour to  maintain  in  ourselves  and  promote 
in  others  a  moral  tone  that  is  brisk  and  vigor- 
ous, honouring    the  virtues  of  truth,  justice, 
and  purity,  and  reprobating  the  opposite  vices. 
But  there  is  no  reason  why  this  tone  of  rigorous 
discrimination  between  good  and  evil  should 
not  be  combined  with  a  gentle  and  charitable 
judgment  of  the  character  and  motives  of  our 
neighbours  and  fellowrChristians.     We  are  not 
competent  to  weigh  their  actions,  for  the  reason 
already  given,  that  our  information  is  almost 
always  partial,  and  also  because  our  censure  is 
very  apt  to  be  unduly  aggravated  if  we  happen 
to  be  ourselves  in  an  uncomfortable  mood,  or 
if  we  have  a  feeling  of  personal  dislike  to  those 
whose  conduct  is  impugned.     Nay,  more,  when 
a  particular  point  of  behaviour  or  line  of  con- 
duct is  under  censure,  and  is  confessedly  inde- 
fensible, it  is  not  easy  for  us  to  fix  the  degree 
of  condemnation  which  it  deserves,  because  we 


THE  CHIP  AND  THE  BEAM.  49 

cannot  say  how  much  is  due  to  wickedness, 
and  how  much  to  weakness,  silliness,  or  mis- 
guidance. Sometimes  behaviour  that  wears  a 
most  objectionable  aspect  proceeds  from  an 
ungracious  manner,  or  a  giddy  mood,  or  bad 
taste,  rather  than  bad  intention.  To  a  severe 
temper  that  may  appear  a  huge  beam  which 
a  kinder  heart  and  more  considerate  judgment 
will  be  content  to  regard  as  a  mote  or  small 
chip,  which  love  and  patience  may  remove. 

"  Have  fervent  charity  among  yourselves, 
for  charity  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins."  '" 
Such  was  the  rule  for  the  early  Christians,  and 
it  is  as  much  in  force  as  ever.  There  is  no 
religion  that  goes  so  deep  as  ours  into  the 
exposure  of  human  sin  and  consequent  misery, 
or  has  a  moral  tone  so  firm  and  vigorous  :  but 
at  the  same  time  there  is  none  that  is  so  per- 
vaded with  the  spirit  of  kindness  and  hopeful- 
ness. It  charges  us  to  forbear  and  forgive, 
and  above  all  things,  to  "  put  on  love,  which 
is  the  bond  of  perfectness."  t 

*  1  Peter  iv.  8.  t  Coloss.  iii.  13,  14. 


D 


(    50    ) 


V. 

THE  DOGS  AND  THE  SWINE. 

"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast  your  pearls 
before  the  swine,  lest  haply  they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and 
turn  and  rend  you." — St.  Matt.  vii.  6. 

It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  be  morally  and 
spiritually  useful  to  other  men.  It  requires 
much  more  than  holy  talk.  In  our  last 
chapter  we  have  seen  that  it  needs  self- 
knowledge  and  charity  —  a  recognition  and 
removal  of  'our  own  faults  in  order  to  dis- 
cern and  correct  the  faults  of  others.  Now 
follows  another  lesson,  to  the  effect  that 
Christian  usefulness  requires  careful  discrimi- 
nation of  what  is  fitting  or  unfitting,  and 
a  power  of  reserve  as  well  as  a  faculty  of 
speech. 

Perhaps  it  strikes  some  readers  of  the 
New  Testament  that  the  language  used  by  our 
Lord  in  the  text  at  the  head  of  this  chapter 


THE  DOGS  AND  THE  SWINE.  51 

is  scarcely  worthy  of  such  a  teacher.  They 
may  urge  that  it  was  neither  kind  nor  dignified 
to  call  men,  however  ungodly,  dogs  and  swine. 
Is  it  not  a  duty  to  honour  all  men  ?  But  here 
lies  a  mistake.  Our  Saviour  did  not  call  men 
by  opprobrious  names.  It  is  one  thing,  and 
not  a  very  respectful  thing,  to  call  a  man  a 
sheep;  quite  another  thing  to  illustrate  the 
wandering  of  a  sinful  man  from  God  by  the 
straying  of  a  sheep  from  the  shepherd's  care. 
So  it  would  indeed  be  a  harsh  mode  of  speak- 
ing to  stigmatise  men  as  dogs  and  swine,  as 
vile  and  stupid  animals;  but  it  is  quite  an- 
other thing  to  introduce  such  creatures  in 
order  to  give  point  to  an  illustration  of  what 
would  be  unbecoming  and  unsuitable  in  the 
delivery  of  sacred  truth  to  profane  persons. 
It  would  be  as  incongruous  and  improper  as 
to  cast  the  sacrificial  flesh  from  the  altar  to 
a  street  dog,  or  to  throw  pearls  before  a 
savage  boar. 

The  first  case  supposed  is  that  of  a  priest  or 
Levite,  who  on  leaving  the  temple  observed  one 
of  the  ever-hungry  dogs  that  prowled  about 
the  city  of  Jerusalem,  but  were  never  admitted 


52  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

within  the  gates  of  the  sanctuary.  Forget- 
ting all  considerations  of  manners  and  pro- 
priety, he  returned  into  the  court,  took  a 
portion  of  flesh  which  had  been  on  the  altar 
of  burnt-offering,  and  threw  it  to  the  dog. 
Such  an  action  would  violate  the  Divine  law 
which  assigned  the  flesh  of  the  offerings  to  the 
priests,  and  it  would  indicate  gross  disrespect 
and  a  want  of  the  sense  of  fitness.  The  fault 
found  is  not  with  the  dog,  which  could  know 
no  better  than  snap  up  the  piece  of  flesh.  It 
was  with  the  thoughtless  or  presumptuous 
priest. 

The  other  case  supposed  is  that  of  a  lavish 
rich  man,  who,  for  some  whim,  or  intending  a 
practical  joke,  threw  pearls,  as  if  they  were 
seeds,  before  a  herd  of  swine.  The  swine  in 
Palestine  never  were  tame  creatures,  as  with 
us.  Though  in  some  parts  of  the  country 
they  were  kept  in  herds,  they  wrere  by  the 
Jewish  law  unclean  animals,  and  disallowed 
as  food  for  man.  Accordingly  they  were  at 
the  most  only  half-tamed ;  and  the  genuine 
wild  boar  has  always  haunted  the  valley  of 
the  Jordan.     Now,  if  one  should  cast  pearls 


THE  DOGS  AND  THE  SWINE.  53 

in  the  way  supposed  before  those  animals, 
they  might  rush  for  what  seemed  to  be  grain, 
since  they  are  always  voracious,  but,  quickly 
discovering  the  hoax,  would  trample  on  the 
pearls,  as  pigs  commonly  put  their  feet  into 
and  upon  their  food ;  and,  not  improbably, 
an  enraged  boar  wTould  rend  the  foolish  man 
who  had  played  this  dangerous  game  by  a 
side  upward  stroke  of  his  tusk,  as  the  manner 
of  such  creatures  is.  This  turning  and  rending- 
Horace  refers  to  in  one  of  his  odes,  where  he 
alludes  to  the  boar  "  obliquum  meditantis 
ictum" — meditating  a  side-long  thrust.* 

What  need,  it  may  be  asked,  to  warn 
respectable  people  against  conduct  like  this, 
so  profane,  or  so  senseless  and  foolhardy  ? 
The  answer  is  that  extreme  instances  are 
chosen  in  order  to  put  a  much-needed  lesson 
in  a  strong  light,  just  as  the  warning  against 
the  self-complacency  of  a  censorious  man  is 
given  by  supposing  the  case  of  one  who  had 
a  large  splinter  of  wood  in  his  eye  yet  thought 
that  he  could  see  well  enough  to  perform  a 
delicate  operation  on  the  eye  of  his  brother ; 

*  Carm.  iii.  22. 


54  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

or  as  the  case  of  a  cruel  father,  who  gives  his 
child  a  serpent  for  a  fish,  is  used  to  enhance 
by  contrast  the  fatherly  goodness  of  God. 

But  what  is  the  lesson  ?  It  cannot  be  that 
Christians  are  never  to  press  the  Gospel  on 
an  indifferent,  unsympathetic,  or  even  hostile 
audience.  In  that  case  it  would  contradict 
all  those  counsels  and  charges  which  require 
a  fearless  and  even  an  aggressive  testimony  to 
the  name  of  Jesus;  and  it  would  be  at  variance 
with  the  example  of  our  Lord  and  His  apostles, 
who  preached  the  Word  in  the  face  of  angry 
opposition.  Christ  did  not  reserve  Himself 
for  well-disposed  hearers,  nor  did  His  disciples. 
Did  not  St.  Peter,  with  his  friend  St.  John  by 
his  side,  preach  Jesus  as  the  Christ  to  the 
Council  at  Jerusalem  which  had  condemned 
Jesus  within  a  few  weeks,  and  had  arrested 
the  two  apostles  for  the  offence  of  speaking  to 
the  people  in  that  name  1  Did  not  St.  Paul, 
with  similar  intrepidit}r,  preach  to  the  mocking 
Athenians,  and  to  the  angry  crowd  at  Jerusa- 
lem, from  whose  clutches  he  had  just  been 
rescued  by  the  Eoman  soldiers  ?  And  since 
those   days,    how    many  brave   witnesses   for 


THE  DOGS  AND  THE  SWINE.  55 

Christ  have  proclaimed  repentance  and  salva- 
tion to  men  who  hated  them  and  hooted  at 
their  testimony  !  It  cannot  be  that  those 
are  condemned  by  any  saying  of  their  Lord. 
He  never  can  have  intended  to  pluck  heroism 
and  martyrdom  out  of  Christian  service.  On 
the  contrary,  the  courageous  and  heroic  temper 
is  in  full  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  gospel.  There  can  scarcely  be 
too  much  boldness  in  making  known  the  love 
and  the  will  of  God.  If  opponents  have  not 
merely  neglected  the  gospel,  but  met  it  with  the 
violence  of  persecution  ;  if  they  have  turned 
and  rent  as  with  a  wTild  boar's  tusk  those 
who  sought  to  do  them  good,  the  Lord  does 
not  censure,  but  will  certainly  reward  those 
who  suffered  for  His  name,  perhaps  lost  their 
lives  for  His  sake,  and  that  of  His  gospel. 

The  positive  lesson  conveyed  in  this  meta- 
phorical saying  of  Jesus  is  one  of  reverence 
and  discretion.     We  understand  it  thus  : — 

I.  As  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
While  the  preacher  is  not  to  evade  difficulty 
or  shrink  from  opposition  or  personal  danger, 


56  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

be  is  to  consult  decorum  and  opportunity  so 
far  as  not  to  expose. names  and  things  that  are 
sacred  to  open  and  egregious  contempt.     Ou 
this  principle  one  is  not  to  address  religious 
truth  to  a  drunkard  in  his  cups,  or  to  him 
who  sits  in  the  scorn er's  chair.     It  is  true  that 
cases  have  been  known   in   which  the  truth 
wonderfully  sobered  the  drunkard  or  silenced 
the  scoffer ;  but  no  such  rare  instances  justify 
an  unseemly  subjection  of  the  name  and  Word 
of  God  to  an  overwhelming  risk  of  jibe  and 
blasphemy.     Open-air  preaching,  too,  requires 
very  especially  to  be  placed  under  this  rule  of 
Christ.     If  conducted  at  fit  places  and  times, 
it   is  not  merely  an  allowable,  but  a  highly 
commendable  practice ;   but   the    question   of 
fitness  is  of   far   more    importance   than    in- 
experienced  preachers    are    aware.      To    our 
thinking,  it   does   not    well  consist  with   the 
precept   of  Christ  now  under  our  considera- 
tion for  one  to  enter  into  a  sort  of  shouting 
competition  with   hucksters   at  the  corner  of 
a  busy  street,  or  to  pray  and  preach  in  the 
throng   and   hubbub    of   a    race-course.     Can 
it   be   reconciled   with  any  proper  feeling  of 


THE  DOGS  AXD  THE  SWINE.  57 

reverence  that  ears  which  are  filled  with  the 
cry  of  some  seller  of  cheap  wares  by  the  side- 
walk, or  the  voice  of  a  singer  of  ribald  ballads, 
or  with  the  roar  of  men  offering  bets,  or  the 
coarse  jokes  and  hideous  swearing  of  "  roughs," 
should  in  the  midst  of  all  this  hear  a  rival 
vociferation  of  such  names  as  Jesus  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  with  ever  so  many  well-meant 
appeals  for  repentance  and  faith  ?  We  do 
not  deny  that  in  an  occasional,  very  occasional, 
instance,  good  has  been  done  by  such  ven- 
turesome preaching ;  but  no  one  can  tell  on 
the  other  side  how  much  harm  has  been  done 
by  breaking  down  the  sense  of  reverence, 
and  exposing  what  is  more  holy  and  precious 
than  the  best  men  are  able  to  conceive  to 
the  open  scorn,  or,  what  may  be  even  worse, 
the  unchastened  familiarity,  of  the  foolish  and 
the  profane. 

II.  As  to  statements  of  spiritual  experience. 

In  this  matter  Christian  men  are  apt  to  fall 
into  one  or  other  of  two  opposite  extremes. 
Many  pass  through  life  with  hardly  a  word, 
even  to  their  pastors  or  their  nearest  friends, 


58  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

which  indicates  that  they  have  received  any 
spiritual  benefit  or  have  any  inward  experi- 
ence of  the  grace  of  God.  This  is  the  one 
extreme  of  unreasonable  reticence.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  good  many  talk  too  much  about 
themselves,  and  will  even  volunteer  before 
indiscriminate  assemblies  an  account  of  their 
conversion,  and  of  their  great  peace  and  joy 
in  believing.  This  is  the  opposite,  the  ego- 
tistical extreme  ;  and  none  the  less  egotistical 
that  the  statement  is  accompanied  with  many 
exclamations  of  "  Glory  to  God ! " 

Between  these  extremes  the  wise  and 
humble  Christian  ought  to  steer  his  course. 
He  must  consider  his  company  and  his  oppor- 
tunity. If  he  be  among  those  who  fear  God 
and  have  some  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
spiritual  life,  he  may  "  tell  what  God  has 
done  for  his  soul,"  so  as  to  strengthen  his 
brethren  and  stir  them  up  to  love  and  praise. 
If  he  be  in  a  mixed  company,  he  will  probably 
be  more  reserved.  If  he  be  among  persons 
unfit  to  estimate  holy  and  precious  things,  he 
will  not  cast  religious  experience  before  them, 
to   be    misconstrued    and   possibly   trampled 


THE  DOGS  AND  THE  SWINE.  59 

under  foot.  The  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
us  is  to  be  submitted  only  to  spiritual  men, 
and  even  to  them  should  always  be  disclosed 
with  lowliness  and  modesty. 

III.  As  to  the  admission  to  sacred  privi- 
leges and  functions  in  the  Church. 

It  is  a  degradation  and  misuse  of  holy  ordi- 
nances to  press  them  on  persons  of  unjust  or 
impure  lives.  True  that  in  our  modern  Chris- 
tendom it  is  not  possible  for  Church-rulers  to 
draw  an  absolute  line  of  separation  between  the 
holy  and  the  profane.  There  must  be  broad 
margins  of  forbearance,  and  charity  hopes  all 
things  :  but  it  would  be  a  disastrous  error  to 
surrender  the  great  principle  of  Church  sepa- 
ration and  discipline,  that  holy  things  are  for 
the  holy.  Such  is  the  principle  on  which 
St.  Paul  proceeded  when  he  charged  the  Corin- 
thian Christians  not  to  retain  in  fellowship  "  a 
fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  an  idolater,  or  a 
reviler,  or  a  drunkard,  or  an  extortioner."  * 
"  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbe- 
lievers." t 

*   1  Cor.  v.  11.  t  2  Cor.  vi.  14. 


60  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  Reformed  Churches  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury were  honourably  distinguished  by  their 
revival  of  Church  discipline.  They  required, 
with  the  reformation  of  faith  and  worship, 
also  a  reform  of  manners  and  morals.  In  the 
Book  of  Common  Order  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land (a.d.  1560)  occurs  this  weighty  para- 
graph : — 

"  There  are  three  causes,  chiefly,  which 
move  the  Church  of  God  to  the  execut- 
ing of  discipline:  —  (1.)  That  men  of  evil 
conversation  be  not  numbered  among  God's 
children,  to  their  Father's  reproach,  as  if  the 
Church  of  God  were  a  sanctuary  for  naughty 
and  vile  persons.  (2.)  That  the  good  be  not 
infected  by  the  evil,  which  thing  St.  Paul  fore- 
saw when  he  commanded  the  Corinthians  to 
banish  from  among  them  the  incestuous  adul- 
terer, saying,  '  A  little  leaven  maketh  sour 
the  whole  lump  of  dough.'  (3.)  That  a  man 
thus  corrected  or  excommunicated  might  be 
ashamed  of  his  fault,  and  so  through  repen- 
tance come  to  amendment." 

The  confusion  into  which  Christian  society 
has   fallen    makes   it    difficult   for    the   most 


THE  DOGS  AND  THE  SWINE.  61 

faithful  Churches  to  apply  the  sound  prin- 
ciple of  the  separation  of  the  holy  from  the 
unclean.  Churches  that  have  lost  or  surren- 
dered the  power  of  self-discipline  enfeeble  dis- 
cipline in  other  Churches  also.  But  none  the 
less  does  it  remain  a  sacred  duty  to  warn  from 
the  Lord's  table  the  carnally-minded  and  such 
as  do  not  discern  the  Lord's  body,  and  never 
knowingly  to  admit  to  Church  privilege  or 
office  any  who  are  of  impure  or  intemperate 
habits.  Such  persons  there  were  in  the  first 
ages,  naming  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  then 
turning  back  "from  the  holy  commandment." 
St.  Peter  refers  to  such  in  terms  which  recall 
an  ancient  proverb,"  but  also  have  an  unques- 
tionable reminiscence  of  the  saying  of  Jesus 
about  the  dogs  and  swine,  which  the  Apostle, 
having  once  heard,  could  never  forget — "  The 
dog  turning  to  his  own  vomit  again,  and  the 
sow  that  had  washed  to  wallowing  in  the 
mire.'"'  t 

The  Lord  make  clean  our  hearts  within  us, 
and  then  "  give  us  His  own  flesh  to  eat !  "  It 
is  meat  indeed,  for  it  is  the  flesh  of  the  Sacri- 

*  Prov.  xxvi.  II.  f  -  Peter  ii.  22. 


62  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

fice  once  offered  for  us.  Then  will  the  pearls 
of  sacred  truth  be  recognised  by  us  as  pre- 
cious. We  know  of  one  pearl  of  great  price, 
and  gladly  sell  all  that  we  have  in  order  to 
possess  that  pearl. 


(     63     ) 


VI. 

TWO  GATES  AND   TWO  WAYS. 

"  Enter  ye  in  by  the  narrow  gate  :  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad 
is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  be  they  that  enter 
in  thereby.  For  narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straitened  the  way,  that 
leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  be  they  that  find  it." — St.  Matt.  vii. 
13,  14. 

In  all  times  and  all  languages  human  life  has 
been  likened  to  a  journey.  The  Bible  has 
many  examples.  Enoch  walked  with  God. 
Jacob  described  the  years  of  his  life  as  the 
years  of  his  pilgrimage.  St.  Paul  referred  to 
men  who  "  walked  according  to  the  course  of 
the  world,"  denounced  "  walking  after  the 
flesh,"  and  commended  "  walking  in  the 
Spirit."  It  is  a  common  usage  to  speak  of 
a  way  of  life  or  a  course  of  conduct ;  and  so 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  that 
when  Jesus  Christ  employed  in  His  teaching 
the  illustration  of  two  gates  and  two  roads, 
He  meant  to  indicate  two  modes  and  tenden- 


64  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

cies  of  human  life.  In  fact,  He  put  vividly 
before  His  audience  the  same  alternative 
which  a  great  painter  put  on  the  canvas  in 
the  rival  persuasions  of  Minerva  and  Venus 
— Wisdom  and  Pleasure — appealing  from  op- 
posite sides  to  inexperienced  and  impulsive 
youth. 

It  is  a  bold  and  comprehensive  generali- 
sation. As  they  appear  to  us,  the  paths  of 
human  conduct  are  very  various.  We  cannot 
reduce  them  to  two,  or  pronounce  confidently 
that  this  man  is  on  the  sure  road  to  heaven, 
and  that  man  on  the  sure  way  to  hell ;  but 
under  all  the  moral  shades  and  circumstantial 
diversities  of  human  life  our  Lord  saw  two 
opposite  lines  of  tendency,  and  only  two.  The 
one  is  the  way  of  the  unjust,  the  other  the 
path  of  the  just.  The  one  is  the  way  of  the 
flesh,  and  the  other  the  path  of  the  Spirit. 

I.  A  wide  gate  lying  open  invites  your 
entrance,  and  a  broad  smooth  avenue  gives 
promise  of  leading  you  to  some  mansion, 
castle,  or  pleasure-ground.  Such  is  the  gate 
and  such  is  the  way  of  self-indulgence — at  the 
outset  of  life  easy  to  the  feet,  pleasant  to  the 


TWO  GATES  AND  TWO  WAYS.  65 

eye,  seductive  to  the  senses  and  the  imagina- 
tion. 

The  pleasure,  indeed,  is  only  for  a  season. 
The  way  becomes  rough,  and  for  one  who 
continues  on  it  smiling  to  the  last,  you  may 
find  seven  grumbling  and  out  of  humour. 
The  road  of  pleasure  is  infested  with  stinging 
nettles  of  pain.  Wounded  pride,  satiated  ap- 
petite, foiled  ambitions,  disappointed  plans, 
gnawing  jealousies,  spoil  everything  this 
world  can  furnish.  "  Vanity  of  vanities  :  all 
is  vanity."  Still  men  go  on  in  the  broad  way. 
Their  choice  has  been  made,  their  habits  are 
formed  ;  they  must  just  get  as  much  as  they 
can  out  of  their  lives  on  the  line  which  they 
have  adopted.  If  they  feel,  as  sometimes  they 
must,  that  they  are  by  no  means  making  the 
best  thing  possible  out  of  their  life  and  oppor- 
tunities, they  try  to  console  themselves  by  the 
thought  that  they  are  not  singular  in  this. 
They  are  as  good  as  most  of  their  neighbours, 
and  live  as  people  of  their  rank  are  wont  to 
do.  If  life,  as  it  proceeds,  disappoints  their 
hopes,  they  suffer  only  the  common  lot. 

It  is   one  of  the  inducements    to  men  to 

E 


66  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

enter  the  wide  gate,  that  "many  go  in 
thereat."  Men  are  very  gregarious,  and  the 
crowd  always  draws  a  greater  crowd.  It  is 
comparatively  rare  to  find  a  man  act  strictly 
from  individual  convictions  and  think  out 
his  line  of  conduct  from  his  own  reason  and 
conscience.  Most  men  copy  one  another.  So, 
because  the  broad  way  has  been  the  popular 
way,  it  becomes  more  and  more  popular.  A 
new  generation  throng  the  gate,  following  the 
steps  of  their  fathers,  as  their  fathers  followed 
their  predecessors,  each  generation  finding,  as 
they  finish  the  course,  and  it  is  too  late  to 
alter  it,  to  what  a  woeful  termination  the 
broad  way  has  conducted  them. 

"  Leadeth  to  destruction."  So  said  the 
Faithful  and  True  Witness.  He  did  not  set 
Himself  to  prove  the  statement,  or  enter  into 
any  argument  to  show  that  such  is  the  neces- 
sary conclusion  to  a  life  of  self-seeking  and 
self-indulgence.  He  was  not  a  reasoner,  but  a 
revealer.  He  saw  the  end  from  the  beginniug, 
and  declared  it  with  the  calm  authority  of  one 
who  had  complete  cognisance  of  the  issues  of 
life  in  good  and  evil,  in  weal  and  woe.     He, 


TWO  GATES  AND  TWO  WAYS.  67 

knew,  and  therefore  gave  warning,  that  the 
"broad  way"  leads  to  no  sweet  home  or 
celestial  palace,  but  to  a  beetling  precipice 
and  sore  destruction. 

From  this  there  is  a  possibility  of  escape ; 
but  at  the  beginning,  not  at  the  end.  One 
must  turn  away  from  the  inviting  gate  and 
dare  to  dissent  from  the  multitude  ;  or,  if  he 
has  unhappily  entered  the  gate  and  proceeded 
on  the  way,  he  must,  at  the  warning  of  Christ, 
be  converted ;  he  must  turn,  retrace  his  steps 
in  repentance,  and  come  out  through  the  gate, 
reversing  the  very  principle  of  his  life,  that 
he  may  enter  on  a  new  course  before  it  is  too 
late. 

II.  A  narrow  gate  is  overlooked  by  the 
crowd,  or  is  avoided  because  it  opens  on  a 
mere  footpath  closely  hedged  or  walled  in 
on  either  side.  The  presumption  is  that  it 
leads  to  a  poor  man's  cottage  or  a  cattle-shed. 
True  that  over  the  gate  indicated  by  Christ 
those  who  believe  His  Word  may  see  an  in- 
scription, "  To  the  Palace  of  the  King."  But 
the  heedless  multitude  do  not  see  this  inscrip- 
tion, or,  if  their  attention  is  called  to  it,  make 


68  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

light  of  it,  persuading  themselves  that  there 
must  be  much  easier  and  more  conspicuous 
avenues  to  the  palace. 

There  is  a  passage  in  the  Second  Book  of 
Esdras  which  resembles  the  saying  of  Jesus 
Christ  now  under  our  consideration,  but  the 
date  of  that  book  being  quite  uncertain,  we 
cannot  even  put  it  as  a  conjecture  that  our 
Lord  may  have  had  the  words  of  Esdras  in 
His  mind.  The  inheritance  of  God's  people  is 
likened  to  "  a  city  set  upon  a  broad  field,  and 
full  of  all  good  things,  but  the  entrance  is 
narrow  and  set  in  a  dangerous  place,  as  if 
there  were  a  fire  on  the  right  hand,  and  on 
the  left  a  deep  water,  and  only  one  path 
between  these,  so  small  that  but  one  man  at 
once  could  go  there."  Then  follows  the  ques- 
tion, "  If  this  city  were  given  unto  a  man  for 
an  inheritance,  if  he  never  shall  pass  through 
the  danger  set  before  it,  how  shall  he  receive 
this  inheritance  ?  "  # 

It  is  not  danger  that  our  Lord's  language 
suggests  so  much  as  the  need  of  humility, 
self-denial,  and  non-conformity  to  the  world. 

*  2  Esdras  vii. 


TWO  GATES  AND  TWO  WAYS.  69 

One  must  repent  and  humble  himself  as  a 
little  child  in  order  to  pass  through  the  gate 
and  enter  on  the  way.  Thereafter,  too,  he 
must  maintain  a  high  purpose  and  a  firm  self- 
control  in  order  to  advance  on  the  wav,  on  no 
account  deviating  from  the  path  of  righteous- 
ness, however  tempting  the  "bypath  meadows" 
may  be.  After  all,  those  soft  meadows  of  ease 
and  compromise  are  more  mischievous  than 
the  ditches,  into  which  if  a  man  fall  he  is 
defiled,  or  the  fire  and  water  on  either  side, 
which  compel  vigilance. 

Mark  the  entire  frankness  with  which 
Jesus  Christ  proclaimed  the  difficulty  of 
being  one  of  His  disciples  and  walking  in 
the  way  of  His  steps.  Evidently  He  was 
conscious  of  a  right  to  command  the  alle- 
giance of  men  at  whatever  cost,  and  of  a 
power  to  recompense  those  who  might  suffer 
for  His  name  and  "for  righteousness'  sake." 
The  way  which  He  set  before  His  followers 
might  be  arduous,  but  there  were  and  would 
always  be  ample  compensations  for  all  the 
difficulties  and  temporal  losses  which  it  might 
entail.     No  lion  or  ravenous  beast  goes  up  on 


70  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

that  way  of  holiness.*  Angels  encamp  round 
about  it,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter, 
leads  all  those  who  walk  thereon. 

Add  to  this,  that  the  narrow  way  is 
brightened  by  the  promise  and  hope  of 
eternal  life  which  we  have  in  Christ  Jesus. 
It  will  not  end,  like  the  broad  way,  in  a 
precipice  hanging  over  the  pit  of  death.  Nor 
is  the  issue  of  it  in  a  mere  vague  futurity, 
like  that  of  the  woodland  path  to  which  an 
American  poet  compares  human  life — 

"  On  a  trackless  beach, 
With  a  boundless  sea  before."  t 

The  narrowed  way  broadens  into  a  sure  and 
glorious  issue.  It  leads  to  life.  Of  ordinary 
human  existence,  we  say  that  it  leads  to,  it 
ends  in,  death ;  but  the  life  of  faith  and  new 
obedience  passes  into  a  fuller  and  higher 
vitality  —  the  life  everlasting.  No  mention 
here  of  deathbeds  or  graves,  because  these 
come  to  men,  or  men  come  to  them,  in  a 
natural  order  apart  altogether  from  Christ. 
Life  in   Him   is  not  interrupted   by  the   de- 

*  Isa.  xxxv.  9.      t  Bryant's  Later  Poems,  The  Unknown  Way. 


TWO  GATES  AND  TWO  WAYS.  71 

cease  and  dissolution  of  the  body,  nor  is 
there  any  interception  of  its  progress  toward 
its  heavenly  expansion  and  fulness  in  the 
presence  of  the  King. 

Yet  what  mournful  words  are  these  that 
follow  !— "  Few  there  be  that  find  it."  There 
are  two  mistakes,  opposite  to  eacli  other,  to 
be  avoided : — 

1.  They  misconstrue  the  Scriptures  who 
infer  from  the  expression  just  quoted  that 
the  saved  of  the  Lord  in  every  generation 
must  be  few.  Christ  stated  a  melancholy 
fact  in  regard  to  His  own  generation,  who 
"received  Him  not,"  but  did  not  predict  that 
the  same  state  of  matters  would  last  through- 
out  all  generations.  After  the  same  manner 
He  addressed  His  followers  as  a  "little 
flock ; "  but  did  not  therein  imply  that  His 
Hock  would  always  be  small.  William  Cow- 
per,  however,  had  evidently  been  taught  so-; 
and,  accordingly,  in  one  of  his  hymns,  the 
Saviour  of  a  multitude  that  no  man  can 
number  is  addressed  as — 

"  Dear  Shepherd  of  Thy  chosen  few." 


72  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

A  similar  misuse  is  often  made  of  St. 
Paul's  observation,  that  not  many  of  the 
mighty,  the  noble,  or  the  wise  in  the  heathen 
world  were  amonrr  "  the  called."  or  in  Chris- 
tian  fellowship,*  and  that  the  Church  re- 
ceived her  reinforcements  more  frequently 
from  those  classes  of  society  which  had  less 
repute  and  influence.  He  stated  this  as  a 
fact  of  the  time,  and  one  which  the  Corin- 
thians to  whom  he  wrote  might  see  for  them- 
selves ;  but  he  did  not  lay  it  down  as  a 
principle  or  standing  law  of  Christianity  for 
all  time  coming.  Yet  this  inference  seems 
often  to  be  drawn  ;  and  a  false  impression 
is  conveyed  that  our  religion  has  an  anti- 
pathy to  culture,  and  that  it  is  more  adapted 
to  the  ignorant  than  to  men  of  education  and 
refinement. 

In  the  instance  before  us,  our  Lord  pointed 
out  that  few  in  His  time  chose  the  way  of 
righteousness ;  but  whether  in  the  end  only 
a  few  would  be  saved,  He  said  not.  When 
the  question  was  put  to  Him,  He  declined 
to  answer  it,  but  told  the  questioners  to  look 

*  i  Cor.  i.  26. 


TWO  GATES  AND  TWO  WAYS.  73 

well  to  themselves,  lest  they  should  miss  the 
entrance.     "  Strive  ye  to  enter  in."  # 

2.  They  err  on  the  other  side  who  think 
it  due  to  charity  to  suppose  that  all  or 
nearly  all  men  are  to  he  saved.  It  is  from 
Holy  Scripture  only  that  sound  knowledge  on 
such  a  point  can  be  derived  ;  and  Scripture 
throughout  gives  us  to  understand  that  not 
all  mankind,  but  a  people  taken  from  out  the 
mass  of  mankind,  are  and  are  to  be  saved. 
No  teacher  within  all  the  bounds  of  Holy 
Writ  is  more  clear  to  this  effect  than  the 
Master  Himself.  We  can  make  nothing;  of 
the  solemn  alternatives  laid  down  by  Him  if 
it  is  to  be  held  that  those  who  love  the  world 
and  follow  the  common  course  of  self-pleasing, 
shutting  God  out  of  their  thoughts,  are  never- 
theless in  a  state  of  safety  and  in  the  path  to 
life. 

It  is  weak,  and  worse  than  weak,  to  refrain 
from  warning  men  against  incurring  perdition, 
lest  we  be  thought  uncharitable.  The  matter 
is  not  one  to  be  settled  by  our  dispositions 
or  wishes.     The  Judge  of  all   the  earth  will 

*  St.  Luke  xiii.  23,  24. 


74  '  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

do  right.  We  have  to  hold  and  proclaim, 
not  what  we  desire,  but  what  He  has  told 
us.  It  is  right  to  be  charitable,  but  no  one 
needs  be  more  charitable  than  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  well  to  be  liberal,  but  with  one's  own 
things,  not  those  of  another.  It  is  a  cheap 
and  hollow  liberality  that  is  always  ready  to 
give  way  on  the  truths  of  God's  Word,  and 
to  yield  the  claims  of  His  righteousness. 

Charity  and  liberality  of  mind  teach  us  to 
put  the  kindest  construction  on  the  motives 
of  our  fellow-men,  and  to  hope  the  best  that 
is  credible  concerning  them,  but  do  not 
authorise  us  to  contradict  the  Bible,  or  con- 
fuse moral  and  spiritual  distinctions  that  in- 
volve inevitably  opposite  issues.  Both  the 
express  words  and  the  warning  tone  of  Jesus 
and  His  apostles  announce  to  us  a  real 
danger  of  perdition,  and  bid  us  and  all  strive 
to  enter  in  at  the  gate,  and  abide  in  the  way 
of  salvation. 

However  plainly  the  alternative  is  put, 
some  will  "halt  between  two  opinions."  They 
demur  to  being  put  in  such  a  dilemma,  and 
urged  to  a  firm  and  prompt  decision.     There 


TWO  GATES  AND  TWO  WAYS.  75 

seems  to  be  a  vague  hope  afloat  that  this 
clever  and  advanced  generation  may  manage 
to  combine  the  broad  way  and  the  narrow, 
or  strike  out  a  third  path  which  will  unite 
all  advantages  while  obviating  discomfort 
and  singularity.  It  will  be  worldliness  made 
safe  and  godliness  made  easy.  But  all  this 
is  folly.  The  two  gates  and  two  ways  de- 
scribed with  unerring  wisdom  by  our  Lord 
are  incapable  of  combination  or  compromise. 
If  a  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him.  If  a  man  lead  the  life 
of  a  sinner,  he  cannot  die  the  death  or  gain 
the  inheritance  of  a  saint. 


(     7*    ) 


VII. 


TREES  AND  THEIR  FRUIT. 


"For  there  is  no  good  tree 
that  bringeth  forth  corrupt 
fruit ;  nor  again  a  corrupt  tree 
that  bringeth  forth  good  fruit. 
For  each  tree  is  known  by  its 
own  fruit.  For  of  thorns  men 
do  not  gather  figs,  nor  of  a 
bramble  bush  gather  they 
grapes."— St.  Luke  vi.  43,  44. 


"  Beware  of  false  prophets, 
which  come  to  you  in  sheep's 
clothing,  but  inwardly  are 
ravening  wolves.  By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them.  Do 
men  gather  grapes  of  thorns, 
or  figs  of  thistles?  Even  so 
every  good  tree  bringeth  forth 
good  fruit  :  but  the  corrupt  tree 
bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  A 
good  tree  cannot  bring  forth 
evil  fruit,  neither  can  a  cor- 
rupt tree  bring  forth  good 
fruit.  Every  tree  that  bringeth 
not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn 
down,  and  cast  into  the  fire. 
Therefore  by  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them." — St.  Matt. 
vii.  15-20. 


The  comparison  of  men  to  fruit-trees  is  a 
very  obvious  one,  and  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  Bible.  Every  tree  brings  forth  after 
its  kind.  Every  man  acts  according  to  his 
prevailing  disposition  and  will.  Thus  from 
the  fruit  you  can  tell  the  nature  of  the  tree 


TREES  AND  THEIR  FRUIT.  yy 

which  has  produced  it;  and  from  his  course 
of  conduct  you  may  tell  the  kind  of  man  you 
have  to  deal  with.  He  is  a  good  tree,  a  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  a  fruitful  olive- 
tree,  a  flourishing  palm-tree,  a  tree  of  right- 
eousness;  or  he  is  a  corrupt  tree,  a  withered 
tree,  a  dry  tree. 

One  of  the  chief  dangers  which  beset  primi- 
tive Christianity  was  the  intrusion  of  false 
prophets.  There  were  men  who  affected  to 
bear  a  message  from  God,  while  He  had  not 
sent  them ;  but  in  those  days  of  inexperi- 
ence and  open  testimony,  they  found  the  ear 
of  Christian  congregations,  and  "  crept  into 
houses,  beguiling  unstable  souls."  They  were 
without  the  knowledge  and  experience  of  the 
truth,  but  made  their  way  by  plausible  pro- 
testations and  flattering  words.  The  Epistles 
are  full  of  allusions  to  such  men,  as  mislead- 
ing the  Churches. 

The  delusive  professions  of  the  false  pro- 
phets and  teachers  were  only  so  much 
"  sheep's  clothing "  worn  for  a  purpose. 
Christ's  servants  in  a  hostile  world  were  as 
sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  but  those  de- 


78  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

ceivers  were  wolves  in  the  midst  of  tlie  sheep, 
serving  themselves  of  the  flock,  not  obedient 
to  the  Heavenly  Shepherd.  In  this  they 
showed  what  nature  they  were  of.  Clothe  a 
wolf  in  sheep-skins,  still  he  will  ravin.  Call 
a  tree  by  what  name  you  choose,  it  will  bring 
forth  fruit  after  its  own  kind.  They  are  not 
grapes,  but  bitter  black  berries  that  grow  on 
the  buckthorn,  and  thistles  yield  no  figs. 

The  early  Churches  were  required  to  protect 
themselves  from  the  false  teachers.  Apostles 
could  not  be  everywhere  to  test  every  one 
who  claimed  to  address  the  Christian  assem- 
blies. So  the  brethren  were  to  exercise  a  wise 
and  necessary  caution,  and  not  hearken  to 
every  teacher  or  believe  every  spirit.  St. 
Paul  wrote  to  the  Galatians  that  they  ought 
to  have  rejected  any  one,  even  though  he  were 
of  an  angelic  attractiveness,  who  preached  a 
gospel  at  variance  with  that  which  had  been 
delivered  to  them.  St.  John  exhorted  Chris- 
tians at  the  end  of  the  first  century  to  "  prove 
the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God,"  and  espe- 
cially to  watch  the  doctrine  concerning  Jesus 
Christ  as  "  come  in  the  flesh." 


TREES  AND  THEIR  FRUIT.  79 

The  development  of  doctrine  Lad  not  pro- 
ceeded so  far  when  our  Lord  taught  on  the 
Mount,  and  His  reference  to  the  fruit-trees 
indicates  a  practical  and  not  a  dogmatic  test. 
See  how  it  applies — 

I.   To  the  teachers  of  religion. 

We  do  not  admit  that  there  were  no  doctrinal 
tests  in  the  apostolic  times.  The  references  we 
have  just  made  to  the  writings  of  two  of  the 
chief  apostles  prove  the  contrary.  But  the 
moral  test  was  a  primary  one,  and  could  be  ap- 
plied by  any  man  with  a  correct  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  even  though  he  might  not  be  much 
versed  in  theology.  And  the  apostles  followed 
their  Master  in  urging  on  the  Churches  the 
application  of  this  moral  test.  St.  Paul  often 
referred  to  the  selfish  motives  and  immoral  lives 
of  those  unauthorised  and  perverse  teachers 
who  tried  to  undermine  his  influence,  at  the 
same  time  reminding  the  Churches  of  his  per- 
sonal conduct  and  example  among  them.  St. 
Peter  denounced  the  licentiousness  and  covet- 
ousuess  of  the  same  class  of  men.  St.  John, 
in  his  significant    manner,   wrote,   "  He    that 


So  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

doeth  evil  hath  not  seen  God."  St.  Jude 
pointed  with  severe  reprobation  to  "  ungodly 
men"  who  were  troubling  the  Churches — 
"  walking  after  their  lusts,  and  their  mouth 
speaketh  great  swelling  words." 

It  is  true  that  a  bad  man  may  speak  good 
words,  having  learned  them  from  books  or 
from  other  men ;  but  he  is  not,  therefore,  to 
be  accepted  as  a  religious  teacher.  Every  one 
who  does  righteousness  is  begotten  of  God. 
He  who  does  it  not,  is  not  of  God,  and  has 
no  claim  to  speak  for  God.  However  unex- 
ceptionable his  doctrine,  his  influence  cannot  be 
safe  or  healthy.  In  fact,  he  brings  dishonour 
to  the  doctrine  and  injury  to  the  Church 
which  listens  to  him.  The  corrupt  tree  brings 
forth  evil  fruit. 

II.  To  religious  systems. 

Religion,  however  taught,  must  stand  or  fall 
according  to  the  moral  effect  it  produces  on 
those  who  embrace  and  obey  it.  On  this  prin- 
ciple Christianity  may  boldly  invite  compari- 
son with  any  form  of  heathenism,  with  Moham- 
medanism, or  with   the   negation  of  religion 


TREES  AND  THEIR  FRUIT.  Si 

in  Materialism  and  Secularism.  Imperfectly 
as  it  has  been  reduced  to  practice,  it  has  led 
to  a  standard  of  private  and  public  morals,  an 
estimate  of  domestic  virtue,  an  appreciation 
of  righteousness,  and  a  temper  of  mercy  far 
beyond  what  can  be  shown  under  any  other 
system.  Indeed,  the  imperfection  with  which 
Christianity  has  been  illustrated  and  obeyed 
by  its  own  adherents  may  be  cited  as  one  of 
the  proofs  of  its  lofty  origin.  It  is  compara- 
tively easy  to  be  a  thorough  exponent  and 
example  of  heathenism  or  Mohammedanism ; 
but  where  can  you  find  a  perfect  Christian  ? 
There  is  a  consummate  Christ:  there  are  no 
consummate  Christians.  But  in  so  far  as  men 
follow  Christ  and  are  imbued  with  His  Spirit, 
they  are  good,  virtuous,  righteous.  On  the 
other  hand,  you  cannot  say  that  the  more 
thoroughly  heathen  a  man  is,  or  the  more  in- 
tensely Mohammedan,  or  the  more  decidedly 
materialistic  and  secularistic  in  his  convictions, 
the  more  sure  he  is  to  be  good,  virtuous, 
righteous.  Judged  by  the  fruit  it  produces 
where  it  flourishes,   Christianity  is  the  good 

tree. 

F 


82  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  same  test  will  lead  to  just  conclusions 
regarding  the  rival  forms  of  Christianity,  pro- 
vided always  that  a  sufficiently  large  induc- 
tion of  instances  be  taken,  and  that  time 
enough  has  been  given  for  the  working  out  of 
genuine  results.  It  is  not  difficult  to  show 
that  what  may  be  called  the  sacerdotal  form 
of  Christianity  bears  this  test  badly.  It  has 
trained  its  votaries  to  devout  practices  and 
ecclesiastical  submission  ;  but  its  moral  dis- 
cipline, through  the  confessional  and  the  im- 
position of  penance,  has  wrought  on  the  fear 
of  penalty  rather  than  on  the  healthy  sense  of 
right  and  wrong,  while  the  casuistry  applied 
to  actions  and  the  weighing  and  measuring  of 
sins  by  the  priests  have  tended  to  lower  and 
confuse  rather  than  to  educate  and  strengthen 
conscience.  The  fruit  is  notorious  in  the 
unsatisfactory  criminal  statistics  of  a  Eoman 
Catholic  as  contrasted  with  a  Protestant  popu- 
lation.    The  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit. 

Let  it  be  confessed  that  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity, even  in  its  most  earnest  and  evan- 
gelical form,  leaves  still  much  to  be  desired 
in  the  production  of  practical  righteousness ; 


TREES  AND  THEIR  FRUIT.  S3 

but  at  all  events  it  is  the  right  kind  of  tree. 
The  gospel  which  is  its  glory  is  the  doctrine 
according  to  godliness.  The  saving  grace  of 
God  which  it  holds  fast  and  holds  forth  is  that 
which  leads  men  to  "  live  soberly,  righteously, 
and  godly  in  this  present  world." 

A  high  moral  influence  is  sometimes  claimed 
for  what  may  be  called  Unitarian  and  national- 
istic Christianity ;  and  it  should  be  freely  ac- 
knowledged that  this  has  been  the  religion 
of  some  most  amiable,  benevolent,  and  virtu- 
ous men.  But  the  fruit  or  sure  result  of  a 
system  of  belief  and  worship  is  to  be  estimated 
on  a  long  issue  and  a  large  scale ;  and  the 
history  of  the  system  now  indicated  shows  its 
tendency  to  weaken  the  grasp  of  revealed  re- 
ligion on  the  human  soul,  and  to  leave  with 
men  nothing  but  a  code  of  virtue  and  the 
praise  of  charity.  Therefore  it  is  powerless  to 
rescue  the  perishing,  to  elevate  the  masses  to 
comfort  the  poor,  or  to  restrain  the  rich  from 
a  refined  but  selfish  luxury. 

III.   To  all  men. 

In  this  sense  the   saying  is  often  applied, 


84  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  Las  become  a  sort  of  moral  adage  — 
"  The  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit." 

Application  of  such  a  text  to  our  fellow- 
men  must  of  course  be  with  caution  and 
charity.  Great  injury  is  done  every  day 
through  a  rash  habit  of  judging  on  deficient 
or  erroneous  information,  or  through  miscon- 
ception springing  from  personal  or  party  anti- 
pathies. First  let  us  be  sure  of  our  facts ; 
then,  if  it  is  our  duty  to  judge  at  all,  let  us 
proceed  on  those  facts  as  the  evidences  of 
character.  Let  us  look  not  at  leaves,  but 
at  fruit.  And  let  us  not  be  too  severe  on 
youthful  faults.  Trees  sometimes  yield  poor 
and  even  bitter  fruit  when  they  are  young 
which  give  sweet  and  finely  flavoured  fruit 
when  they  come  to  maturity. 

Some  estimate  of  our  fellow-men  we  must 
form  in  order  to  guide  our  own  behaviour  to- 
wards them,  and  to  warrant  our  trust  or  dis- 
trust. Then  let  our  estimate  depend  not  on 
professions,  words,  or  appearances,  all  of  which 
may  be  deceptive,  but  on  solid  actions  and 
the  sustained  tenor  of  life.  Let  us  mark 
what  a  man  does  or  refuses  to  do,  how  he 


TREES  AND  THEIR  FRUIT.  85 

stands  with  those  who  must  know  him  best, 
and  what  is  the  kind  of  influence  he  habitually 
exerts.  We  cannot  go  wrong  in  judging  the 
tree  by  its  fruit. 

The  same  test  may  be  used  in  self-judg- 
ment. No  doubt  a  man  may  take  himself 
to  account  in  a  way  which  he  cannot  apply 
to  his  neighbour.  He  may  sift  his  own 
secret  motives  and.  scrutinise  his  most  hidden 
thoughts  and  desires.  He  ought  to  know 
himself  better  than  he  can  know  any  one 
else.  Yet  an  honest  man,  trying  to  prove 
and  judge  himself,  may  be  perplexed.  It 
is  hard  to  know  the  predominant  motive  or 
to  detect  the  relative  strength  of  desires  that 
have  twined  together  in  the  mind.  Then 
comes  in  well  this  practical  test,  What,  on 
the  whole,  is  the  bent  of  the  character  and 
will  ?  What  are  the  ends  for  which  one 
lives  day  after  day  ?  Is  right  doing  regarded 
as  the  imperative  thing,  or  is  the  obligation 
practically  modified  by  considerations  of  ease, 
of  pleasure,  or  of  immediate  profit  ?  A  wise 
man  will  bring  the  question  to  the  proof, 
recognising  that  only  good  fruit  can  authenti- 


86  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

cate  a  good  fruit-tree.  A  good  man,  in  so 
far  as  he  can  stand  this  great  test,  will  humbly 
and  heartily  disown  all  merit,  and  ascribe  all 
that  is  morally  and  spiritually  right  in  him  to 
the  renewing  and  sanctifying  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

Nothing  but  a  good  tree  can  produce 
good  fruit.  It  is  impossible  to  manufacture 
it.  Sometimes  the  doctrine  of  regeneration 
is  represented  as  fanatical  and  impossible ; 
but  it  is  sound  philosophy  to  begin  at  the 
root.  Interior  disposition  must  determine 
exterior  conduct  and  action.  It  is  the  glory 
and  triumph  of  our  religion  that  it  provides 
for  this.  God  is  able  to  "  make  the  tree 
good ; "  and  then  the  good  tree  is  known  by 
its  spontaneous  fruit. 


(     87     ) 


VIII. 

THE  WISE  BUILDER  AND  THE  FOOLISH. 


"  Every  one  therefore  which 
heareth  these  words  of  miue, 
and  doeth  them,  shall  be  likened 
unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his 
house  upon  the  rock  :  and  the 
rain  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and 
beat  upon  that  house  ;  and  it  fell 
not :  for  it  was  founded  upon 
the  rock.  And  every  one  that 
heareth  these  words  of  mine, 
and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be 
likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  the  sand : 
and  the  rain  descended,  and  the 
floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew, 
and  smote  upon  that  house  ;  and 
it  fell  :  and  great  was  the  fall 
thereof.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  Jesus  ended  these  words, 
the  multitudes  were  astonished 
at  His  teaching  :  for  He  taught 
them  as  one  having  authority, 
and  not  as  their  scribes." — ST. 
Matt.  vii.  24-29. 


"Everyone  that  cometh  unto 
me,  and  heareth  my  words,  and 
doeth  them,  I  will  show  you  to 
whom  he  is  like :  he  is  like  a 
man  building  a  house,  who  digged 
and  went  deep,  and  laid  a  foun- 
dation upon  the  rock :  and  when 
a  flood  arose,  the  stream  brake 
against  that  house,  and  could 
not  shake  it :  because  it  had 
been  well  builded.  But  he  that 
heareth,  and  doeth  not,  is  like 
a  man  that  built  a  house  upon 
the  earth  without  a  foundation  ; 
against  which  the  stream  brake, 
and  straightway  it  fell  in  ;  and 
the  ruin  of  that  house  was  great." 
—St.  Luke  vi.  47-49. 


Moses  descended  a  terrible  mountain  in  the 
wilderness,  bringing  the  law  for  Israel  inscribed 


88  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

on  tablets  of  stone.  The  Prophet  "  like  unto 
Moses "  sat  on  a  mountain  of  Palestine  in 
the  sunshine,  with  His  disciples  and  the  multi- 
tude listening  while  He  opened  His  mouth  in 
blessings,  and  then  proceeded  to  indicate  the 
deeper  meanings  of  the  Divine  law,  and  to 
explain  the  righteousness  which  belongs  to 
the  Divine  kingdom  among  men. 

Sore  punishments  were  denounced  against 
those  "who  despised  Moses's  law."  A  grave 
responsibility  fell  on  those  who  heard  Christ's 
teaching  on  the  Mount.  So  in  closing  His 
discourse,  He  warned  His  hearers  not  to  think 
it  enough  to  pay  an  outward  respect  to  His 
instruction.  They  should  be  doers  of  the 
Word,  and  not  hearers  only. 

The  admonition  is  for  all  who  read  His 
words,  as  much  as  for  those  who  originally 
heard  them.  It  is  much  needed  ;  for  scarcely 
any  part  of  Scripture  has  been  more  praised 
and  less  obeyed  than  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  "  Was  it,"  one  has  well  asked,  "  with 
the  depressing  foresight  how  much  patronising 
admiration  and  barren  praise  would  be  ex- 
pended on  this  sermon  by  men  who  shall  never 


THE  WISE  BUILDER  AND  THE  FOOLISH.      89 

see  the  kingdom  of  God,  that  He  was  moved  to 
close  with  darkening  face  in  words  like  these, 
'  Every  one  that  heareth  these  words  of  mine, 
anddoeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  to  a  foolish 
man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand'  ?  " 

The  peroration,  of  the  sermon  employs  a 
double  illustration,  which  must  have  told  with 
graphic  power  on  an  audience  accustomed  to 
the  sudden  tempests  and  sweepiug  floods  of 
the  climate  of  Judea. 

I.   The  two  builders. 

A  wise  man,  or  one  who  acts  prudently,  is 
described  as  building  a  house.  He  looks  well 
to  the  foundation,  chooses  one  that  will  not 
sink  and  cannot  be  washed  away.  In  such 
a  country  as  Palestine  it  was  the  best  policy 
to  build  upon  a  bed  of  solid  rock. 

In  contrast  to  the  wise  builder  is  the  foolish 
man,  who  gives  no  heed  to  the  choice  of  a 
foundation,  but  goes  to  work  on  a  loose  and 
treacherous  sand.  He  may  erect  an  imposing 
mansion  ;  but  what  is  the  value  of  show  with- 
out safety  ? 

1.  To  the  former  of  these  "shall  be  likened" 


9o  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

the  obedient  hearer  of  the  words  of  Christ. 
To  some  this  mode  of  describing  a  Christian 
appears  to  be  scarcely  evangelical.  It  seems 
to  lay  stress  on  doing,  and  not  on  believing. 
But  in  reality  to  "do  the  words"  and  to 
believe  on  Him  who  uttered  them  are  not 
different  actions  of  the  mind,  but  essentially 
one  and  the  same.  It  should  be  observed  that 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  delivered  at 
an  early  stage  of  our  Lord's  career,  when  He 
showed  Himself  in  Galilee  as  a  prophet.  In 
that  capacity  He  spoke,  and  the  proper  mode 
in  which  to  express  faith  in  Him  was  to 
hearken  to  His  sayings  and  keep  them. 
When  He  came  to  be  more  fully  revealed  in 
His  saving  purpose  and  jDower,  more  emphasis 
was  laid  on  faith  in  Him.  Those  who  follow 
Him  are  disciples,  as  He  is  their  Teacher ; 
believers,  as  He  is  their  Saviour. 

In  fact,  it  is  the  adherence  of  the  whole 
heart  and  mind  to  the  Lord  Jesus  that  is 
essential  and  fundamental.  This  is  to  base 
the  house  upon  the  rock.  All  the  edifice  of 
Christian  life  and  consolation  is  thus  made  to 
rest  on  the  ever-faithful  Christ,  whose  words 


THE  WISE  BUILDER  AND  THE  FOOLISH.      91 

are  treasured  and  obeyed,  and  whose  redeem- 
ing grace  gives  to  conscience  both  peace  and 
liberty.  It  is  one  rock  for  all  who  are  wise. 
Whatever  the  diversities  in  the  houses  of  those 
who  hear  and  do,  all  have  the  same  foundation. 
The  illustrious  and  the  obscure,  the  learned 
and  the  unlearned,  the  courageous  and  the 
timid,  the  wise  of  every  nation  and  every 
tribe,  build  on  the  same  rock,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

2.  To  the  latter  —  the  foolish  builder — 
"shall  be  likened"  the  disobedient  hearer  of 
the  words  of  Christ.  He  listens  and  seems  to 
honour  and  approve,  yet  does  not  keep  or  do 
the  Word — is  no  true  disciple.  Alas !  how 
frequent  are  such  builders  in  every  Church ! 
They  hear,  but  do  not.  They  say  "  Lord, 
Lord,"  but  give  to  the  Lord  neither  faith  nor 
obedience.  They  persist  in  building  up  a 
religious  hope  and  what  they  take  for  a  reli- 
gious character,  but  all  the  while  they  are  on 
an  uncertain  sand,  not  on  the  immovable  rock. 

II.   The  day  of  trial. 

In  fair  weather  the  two   houses  described 


92  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

may  look  equally  safe,  but  a  day  of  storm  soon 
tells  the  difference.  The  rains  descend,  soak- 
ing both  houses  from  above.  The  floods  come 
sidelong,  washing  away  the  surrounding  earth. 
The  winds  beat  on  the  naked  walls.  Then 
the  one  house,  carefully  and  strongly  founded, 
bears  the  strain  ;  but  the  other,  being  "  with- 
out a  foundation,"  has  no  grip  of  the  ground, 
and  falls. 

Now  there  are  many  critical  hours  in  life 
that  test  to  some  extent  our  spiritual  character 
and  hope  ;  but  the  day  of  judgment  indicated 
for  the  two  houses  is  properly  that  day  of 
which  our  Lord  had  spoken  in  which  doers  of 
His  Father's  will  will  be  received  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  workers  of  iniquity, 
however  they  may  cry  "  Lord,  Lord,"  will  be 
shut  out.  Then  will  all  hollow  discipleship 
be  exposed,  and  great  will  be  the  fall  thereof. 
Perhaps  the  germ  of  the  whole  illustration  lies 
in  the  ancient  proverb,  "  The  wicked  are  over- 
thrown, and  are  not,  but  the  house  of  the 
righteous  shall  stand."  * 

The  higher  and  larger  the  foolish  builder's 

*  Proverbs  xii.  7. 


THE  WISE  BUILDER  AND  THE  FOOLISH.      93 

house,  the  greater  the  ruin  into  which  it 
falls.  Disappointment  of  vain  hopes  con- 
fidently cherished  enhances  the  misery  of 
perdition.  Alas !  how  many  such  catastrophes 
there  are,  and  others  preparing  every  hour ! 
It  is  melancholy  enough  to  survey  the  desola- 
tions that  time  and  war  have  made  upon  the 
earth,  broken  temples  and  mouldering  palaces, 
and  mere  heaps  of  rubbish  where,  once  stood 
cities  powerful  and  proud.  But  what  is  the 
fall  of  brick  walls  or  stone  columns  to  the 
ruined  houses  of  vain  hope  in  human  history  ? 
Think  of  men  hearing  the  Word  of  Christ,  and 
yet  through  folly  and  disobedience  losing  the 
kingdom  of  heaven !  How  great  the  fall ! 
How  piteous  the  ruin  ! 

"With  these  sad  words,  "  Great  was  the  fall 
of  it,"  ended  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  A 
mournful  cadence  truly,  which,  sinking  into 
the  ears  and  hearts  of  the  audience,  surely 
kept  them  from  trifling  with  the  words  of 
Jesus.  Indeed  we  know  that  the  people  were 
awe-stricken.  He  taught  them  as  one  havino- 
authority,  and  not  as  the  Scribes.  And  He 
calmly  divided  men  into  two  classes,  the  wise 


94  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  the  foolish,  according  to  their  treatment 
of  Him  and  His  Word — the  very  distinction 
made  in  the  ancient  Psalms  and  Proverbs 
between  those  who  feared  Jehovah  and  those 
who  feared  Him  not.  The  parable  of  the  wise 
and  foolish  virgins  afterwards  spoken  pro- 
ceeded on  the  same  lines,  and  indicated  that 
Jesus  claimed  to  be  not  a  prophet  only,  but 
more  than  a  prophet. 


(    95    ) 


IX. 
THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  HIS  PATIENTS. 

"But     when     He        "And  when  Jesus  "And  Jesus  answer- 
heard    it,     He    said,    heard    it,     He    saith  ing  said   unto    them, 
They  that  are   whole    unto  them,  They  that  They  that  are  whole 
have    no    need    of    a    are    whole    have    no  have    no    need    of    a 
physician,     hut    they    need  of  a  physician,  physician,    but    they 
that  are  sick."  —  St.    but  they  that  are  sick,  that    are    sick." — St. 
Matt.  ix.  12.                   I  came  not  to  call  the  Luke  v.  31. 
righteous,     but     sin- 
ners."—St.   Mark  ii. 
17. 

It  strikes  us  as  a  strange  tliino-  that  Jesus 
Christ  should  have  been  openly  blamed  for 
His  kindness  to  those  who  were  degraded  and 
despised.  We  have  learned  to  admire  such 
consideration  on  the  part  of  good  and  religious 
men.  We  deem  them  well  occupied  in  trying 
to  raise  the  fallen  and  to  recover  those  who 
have  few  to  care  for  them.  But  this  way  of 
thinking-  has  come  to  us  through  Christianity. 
The  old  world  into  which  our  Saviour  was 
born  knew  hardly  anything  of  that  tender  pity 


96  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  philanthropy  which  nowadays  we  think 
so  becoming.  The  Pharisees,  who  were  par 
excellence  the  religious  party  in  Judea,  gave 
alms  publicly  for  their  own  credit,  but  had  no 
real  compassion.  Though  the  Old  Testament 
might  well  have  taught  them  to  pity  the  dis- 
tressed and  consider  the  case  of  the  poor,  they 
were  proud  and  covetous,  and  centred  all  their 
thoughts  on  themselves  and  their  ceremonial 
righteousness.  It  was  a  fixed  notion  with 
them  that  a  righteous  man  should  visit  none 
but  righteous  men ;  and  so  they  did  not 
scruple  to  regard  it  as  a  sign  of  low  tastes 
and  sympathies  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  that  He 
received  publicans  and  sinners  and  sat  at 
table  with  them. 

The  answer  given  by  our  Lord  to  the  Phari- 
sees took  the  form  of  metaphor.  lb  was  at 
once  a  defence  of  His  own  conduct  and  a 
direction  to  His  followers  in  all  time  coming. 

I.  A  defence,  complete  and  unanswerable. 
Our  Saviour  did  not  dispute  the  very  un- 
favourable character  imputed  to  the  publicans 
and  sinners.     Let  them  be  quite  as  bad  as  the 


THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  HIS  PATIENTS.        97 

Pharisees  thought  them,  yet  this  formed  no 
reason  for  His  avoiding  them.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  an  argument  for  His  visiting 
them,  and  expending  much  of  His  time  and 
ministry  upon  them  ;  for  He  was  a  Physician. 
His  very  name,  Jesus,  came  from  the  verb  to 
heal. 

Now  this  was  a  view  of  the  Lord's  character 
and  occupation  which  had  not  occurred  to  the 
Pharisees.    Always  intent  on  building  up  their 
own   repute   for   righteousness   by  means   of 
scrupulous  observances,  they  assumed  that  the 
Nazarene  also  made  it  His  object  to  pass  for 
a  prophet   and   a   righteous  man.      As  they 
judged,  no   one   could  so  pass  who   mingled 
with  publicans  and  sinners.     The  association 
indicated  tastes  and  sympathies  which  were 
unworthy  of  a  righteous  man.     But  here  was 
a  new  idea  which  changed  the  whole  aspect 
of   the    case.       He    was    a    Physician ;    and 
whither   should   a   physiciau   go  but    to    the 
houses  of  the  sick  ?     Nay,   if  there  be  cases 
of  peculiarly   severe    and    dangerous    illness, 
there    is     all    the    stronger    reason    for   his 
visits.        To   go    to   houses    that    other   men 


G 


98  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

shun  is  the  honourable  mark   of  his  profes- 
sion. 

There  could  be  no  misunderstanding  of  the 
Lord's  answer.  The  Pharisees  knew  that  He 
did  not  refer  to  bodily  treatment,  and  that 
the  publicans  and  sinners  were  not  "  on  beds 
of  languishing."  There  were  physicians  in  the 
land,  some  of  them  Pharisees ;  but  Jesus  did 
not  practise  like  them.  He  did,  indeed,  heal 
many  sick  folk  with  a  word ;  and  He  did 
much  for  the  medical  skill  of  future  genera- 
tions by  breathing  into  the  hearts  of  men 
that  temper  of  pity  and  consideration  which 
is  of  the  moral  essence  of  the  healing  art.  But 
the  defence  of  Jesus  before  the  Pharisees  was 
evidently  that  the  publicans  and  sinners  were 
morally  and  spiritually  in  an  evil  case,  and 
that  He,  being  a  Physician  for  the  inner  man, 
was  not  only  justified  in  going  to  them,  but 
bound  to  visit  them  that  He  might  save  them 
from  death.  Instead  of  being  reproached,  He 
ought  to  be  praised.  And  He  will  be  praised 
for  ever  and  ever  by  those  whom  He  has 
healed.  Oh!  kind  and  thoughtful  Saviour! 
who  came  not  as  a  Jewish  Rabbi,  nor  as  a 


THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  HIS  PATIENTS.        99 

Greek  philosopher,  despising  the  people,  but 
as  a  Healer  of  the  sick  and  Eestorer  of  the 
faint,  and  drawing  near  even  to  most  sinful 
men,  as  a  physician  goes  near  to  his  patients 
to  examine  each  case  with  patience  and  apply 
the  necessary  cure ! 

"  Thy  kind  but  searching  glance  can  scan 
The  very  wounds  that  shame  would  hide." 

II.  A  direction  to  His  followers. 

While  our  Lord  answered  the  Pharisees, 
He  meant  that  His  disciples  should  listen  and 
learn.  As  He  was,  so  should  they  become  in 
His  service.  His  Church  was  to  be  a  pro- 
longed expression  and  an  active  exponent  of 
healing  skill  and  mercy. 

Indeed,  in  the  early  Church  the  care  and 
cure  of  sick  folk  formed  a  recognised  part  of 
the  duty  of  Church-officers.  Nowadays  the 
physical  treatment  is  assigned  to  trained  phy- 
sicians and  nurses.  But  whatever  be  the 
division  of  labour,  the  truth  remains  that  the 
ministry  of  healing  is  eminently  Christian,  and 
is  part  of  God's  great  dispensation  of  restor- 
ing mercy.     Still,  as  with  Christ,  so  with  the 


ioo  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

Church,  the  higher  ministry  is  that  of  moral 
and  spiritual  healing ;  and  this  is  to  be  taken 
kindly  and  freely  to  the  chief  of  sinners. 

i.  Christianity  is  remedial. — This  consider- 
ation should  powerfully  influence  preaching  and 
teaching.  To  expatiate  on  the  lofty  idealism 
of  Christianity,  its  serene  philosophy,  and  its 
moral  beauty,  may  be  proper  in  itself  and  help- 
ful to  some  minds,  but  it  is  not  what  men 
at  large  need  most  to  hear.  Before  all,  let 
preachers  make  known  its  Divine  remedy  for 
the  fallen,  the  broken,  the  perishing.  True 
that  Christ  is  a  great  Teacher  and  a  great 
Example ;  true  also  that  He  is  the  great  Ee- 
vealer  of  the  Father ;  but  what  men  most 
urgently  require  at  His  hand,  and  what  men 
troubled  in  conscience  and  sore  at  heart  want 
to  learn,  is  the  healing  power  and  saving  grace 
of  Christ,  the  Son  and  the  Messenger  of  God. 
They  must  have  their  wounds  probed,  their 
inward  ailment  treated,  and  must  be  told  of 
Him  who  "  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost." 

This  view  of  Christianity  excludes  fastidi- 
ousness. -   It  may  be  all  very  well  for  men  to 


THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  HIS  PATIENTS.         ioi 

whom  religion  is  nothing  but  self-righteous- 
ness  to  keep  aloof  from  sinners  for  fear  of 
moral  contamination ;  but  as  a  physician  is 
bound  to  enter  chambers  of  infectious  disease 
in  order  to  heal  the  body,  so  must  Chris- 
tianity be  taken  even  into  the  haunts  of 
vice  in  order  to  heal  the  soul,  and  bring 
back  the  life  of  conscience  and  of  pure  affec- 
tions. Our  religion  is  not  too  dainty  to 
"  step  down  into  the  gutter  "  and  visit  great 
sinners,  or  so  disdainful  as  to  shrink  from 
recognising  those  men  and  women  whom 
society  disowns.  "  Its  proper  vocation  is  to 
find  the  lost,  to  lift  the  low,  to  teach  the 
ignorant,  to  set  free  those  in  bonds,  to  wash 
the  unclean,  to  heal  the  sick ;  and  it  must 
go  where  it  can  discover  the  proper  subjects 
of  its  art,  remembering  that  the  whole  need 
not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick."  * 

Christian  Pharisees  do  not  understand  this. 
They  wish  for  churches  well  appointed  and 
services  well  performed,  in  which  they  and 
others  of  similar  good  repute  may  go  through 
their    devotions    at    proper    times  and   con- 

*  Dr.  A.  B.  Bruce,  Galilean  Gospel,  p.  So. 


102  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

venient  seasons;  but  with  aggression  on  the 
dominion  of  evil  and  the  rescue  of  the 
perishing  they  have  no  real  sympathy.  They 
still  have  need  to  learn  the  meaning  of  that 
word  of  God,  "  I  will  have  mercy  and  not 
sacrifice."  Indeed,  there  are  very  few,  if  any, 
Christians  who  do  not  need  to  revolve  that 
saying  in  their  hearts,  and  more  perfectly 
learn  its  lesson.  It  ought  to  be  their  most 
congenial  occupation  to  show  to  men  the 
Divine  mercy,  and  their  unselfish  joy  to  find 
that  the  most  heinous  sinners  obtain  mercy, 
that  the  most  vile  "  are  washed  and  sancti- 
fied and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 

2.  Christianity  is  hopeful. — It  has  derived 
this  temper  from  Christ  Himself. 

Hopefulness  on  the  part  of  a  physician  is 
not  worth  much  if  he  is  careless  in  his 
diagnosis,  and  makes  only  a  hasty  and 
superficial  examination  of  his  patient's  case. 
It  shows  only  a  sanguine  mood.  Neither  is 
it  of  much  value  when  it  is  only  assumed 
in  order  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  patient. 
But  there  is  nothing  of   this    sort  in  what 


THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  HIS  PATIENTS.        103 

we  call  the  hopefulness  of  Christ  and  Chris- 
tianity. Our  Good  Physician  makes  a  most 
serious  and  accurate  diagnosis  of  every  case. 
He  knew  the  sinfulness  of  those  to  whom 
He  ministered  far  more  thoroughly  than  the 
Pharisees  did.  Yet,  while  they  gave  up  the 
publicans  and  sinners  as  incurable,  He 
treated  them  hopefully,  because  He  knew 
that  grace  could  save  the  very  worst  of 
them.  He  actually  asserted  that  publicans 
and  harlots,  repenting  under  the  faithful 
preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,  went  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  before  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees. 

In  the  like  spirit  of  hopefulness  should 
the  Church  look  upon  mankind,  and  despair 
of  none.  She  knows  of  a  sovereign  healing 
balm  for  even  those  who  are  "  full  of  wounds, 
bruises,  and  putrefying  sores."  The  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  can  change  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  the  most  heinous  sinners.  The 
blood  of  Christ  can  wash  all  their  stains 
away. 

If  the  Pharisees  had  thought  it  of  any 
use  to  try  to  elevate  the  people,  they  would 


io4  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

have  attempted  the  task  by  insisting  on  their 
keeping  the  law  and  the  traditions  of  the 
elders ;  and  they  would  have  failed,  because 
law  and  tradition  have  no  healing  or  re- 
newing power.  Some  of  the  more  austere 
religious  men,  as  the  Essenes,  would  have 
enjoined  ascetic  practices,  and  would  have 
effected  nothing,  because  imposed  austerities 
do  not  purify  the  heart.  Christ  had  a  more 
excellent  way,  and  the  secret  of  it  He  has 
transmitted  to  His  Church.  It  is  the  way 
of  much  love,  much  hope,  much  sympathy. 
He  spoke,  and  His  Church  should  speak,  to 
sinful  men  of  Divine  absolution  and  release 
from  the  guilty  past ;  should  inspire  them 
with  new  desires  and  start  them  on  a  new 
career.  Shall  our  physicians  go  about  the 
streets  visiting  the  sick,  and  sparing  no 
pains  and  no  ingenuity  to  heal  them ;  and 
shall  the  Church  of  God  let  moral  ruin  go 
on  unchecked,  and  men  and  women  grow 
more  and  more  sick  unto  death  in  their 
souls  without  an  effort  to  restore  them?  It 
must  not  be.  The  sin  and  misery  in  the 
world  call  loudly  for  the  enthusiasm  and  in- 


THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  HIS  PATIENTS.         105 

genuity  of  Christian  hope  and  love  ;  and  they 
please  the  Heavenly  Physician  best  who  carry 
the  gospel  of  His  salvation  to  those  whom 
the  successors  of  the  Pharisees  despair  of  or 
disdain. 

A  physician  once  told  us  that  he  kept 
himself  in  health  by  going  to  see  patients. 
"Whenever  he  discontinued  this,  and  insisted 
on  patients  coming  to  him,  or  when  he  tried 
to  go  out  of  practice  altogether,  he  fell  into 
lethargy,  and  lost  both  physical  and  mental 
power  ;  but  so  soon  as  he  resumed  active 
efforts  to  heal  others,  his  own  health  returned. 
Let  servants  and  handmaids  of  Christ  take 
the  hint.  He  who  desires  a  sound,  strong, 
spiritual  life  and  health  in  himself  should  go 
and  try  to  heal  others,  showing  patience, 
sympathy,  and  hopefulness.  This  is  to  walk 
as  Christ  walked.  And  wherever  one  suc- 
ceeds, under  the  blessing  of  Christ,  in  con- 
verting a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways, 
he  "  saves  a  soul  from  death  and  hides  a 
multitude  of  sins." 


(    io6    ) 


X. 

GARMENTS  AND  WINESKINS. 

"  And  no  man  put-  "No  man  seweth  "And  He  spake  also 
teth  a  piece  of  un-  a  piece  of  undressed  a  parable  unto  them ; 
dressed  cloth  upon  an  cloth  on  an  old  gar-  No  man  rendeth  a 
old  garment ;  for  that  ment :  else  that  which  piece  from  a  new  gar- 
which  should  fill  it  up  should  fill  it  up  taketh  ment  and  putteth  it 
taketh  from  the  gar-  from  it,  the  new  from  upon  an  old  garment ; 
ment,  and  a  worse  rent  the  old,  and  a  worse  else  he  will  rend  the 
is  made.  Neither  do  rent  is  made.  And  no  new,  and  also  the  piece 
men  put  new  wine  into  man  putteth  new  wine  from  the  new  will  not 
old  wine-skins :  else  into  old  wine-skins ;  agree  with  the  old. 
the  skins  burst,  and  else  the  wine  will  burst  And  no  man  putteth 
the  wine  is  spilled,  the  skins,  and  the  wine  new  wine  into  old 
and  the  skins  perish  :  perisheth,  and  the  wine-skins  ;  else  the 
but  they  put  new  wine  skins  :  but  they  put  new  wine  will  burst 
into  fresh  wine-skins,  new  wine  into  fresh  the  skins,  and  itself 
and  both  are  pre-  wine -skins."  —  St.  will  be  spilled,  and  the 
served."  —  St.   Matt.   Mark  ii.  21,  22.  skins  will  perish.  But 

ix.  16,  17.  new  wine  must  be  put 

into  fresh  wine-skins. 
And  no  man  having 
drunk  old  wine  desir- 
eth  new :  for  he  saith , 
The  old  is  good." — 
St.  Luke  v.  36-39. 

By  these  illustrations  our  Lord  conveyed  a 
lesson  on  the  charm  of  naturalness  and  the 


GARMENTS  AND  WINE-SKINS.  107 

law  of  congruity  in  religion.  Times  of  trans- 
ition are  critical.  The  disciples  of  John  the 
Baptist  were  anxious  to  know  whether  Jesus 
meant  only  to  reform  the  old  Judaism,  or  to 
break  away  from  it  and  introduce  a  new  faith, 
with  new  rules  and  usages.  On  the  question 
of  fasting,  for  instance,  they  agreed  with  the 
Pharisees,  and  were  concerned  to  find  that  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  differed.  Then  the  Lord 
answered  them  with  heavenly  metaphors  which 
clothed  a  grave  lesson  with  a  veil  of  kindly 
humour. 

As  old  cloth  and  new  cloth  are  one  in  being 
cloth,  old  wine  and  new  are  one  in  being 
wine ;  so  the  religion  before  Christ  and  that 
which  He  introduced  are  essentially  one  in 
kind,  if  not  in  quality.  But  it  would  not 
answer  any  good  purpose  to  limit  the  new 
by  the  conditions  of  the  old,  or  to  place  the 
Christian  faith  and  life  under  the  rules  of  the 
Pharisees,  or  even  of  the  disciples  of  John.  So 
Jesus  put  it  very  plainly  that  He  had  not  come 
to  patch  up  Pharisaism,  or  garnish  Eabbinism, 
or  to  pour  His  doctrine  and  all  its  vital  force 
into  the  rigid  forms  of  the  later  Judaism. 


108  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

Some  of  the  disciples  of  John  had  become 
followers  of  Jesus.  Those  who  had  not,  but 
continued  to  be  known  under  the  former  title 
as  a  separate  party,  evidently  were  suspicious 
of  the  new  influence.  They  were  anxious  for 
a  conservatism  which  at  such  a  time  would 
have  hindered  and  marred  the  whole  mission 
of  our  Saviour.  From  Him  was  to  date  a 
new  era.  Under  His  name  and  His  Spirit 
was  to  come  a  new  dispensation  of  grace  and 
truth.  And  it  would  serve  no  good  purpose 
to  attach  this  to  forms  or  to  limit  it  by  restric- 
tions which  were  incongruous  with  the  genius 
and  liberty  of  the  gospel. 

The  effect  of  a  forced  junction  of  the  old 
and  the  new  would  be  injurious  to  both.  This 
is  shown  by  throwing  the  illustration  of  the 
old  garment  patched  with  undressed  cloth 
into  two  forms.  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark 
report  the  Lord  as  indicating  the  damage  to 
the  old,  whilst  St.  Luke  reports  Him  as  point- 
ing out  the  injury  to  the  new.  The  first  and 
second  Evangelists  have  it  that  the  undressed 
cloth  would  tear  away  from  the  old  garment, 
and  so  make  its  condition  worse  than  before. 


GARMENTS  AND  WINE-SKINS.  109 

The  third  Evangelist  has  it  that  to  take  a 
patch  from  a  new  garment  and  put  it  on  an 
old  one  would  not  make  the  old  one  fit  to 
wear,  for  the  one  cloth  would  not  agree  with 
the  other,  while  it  would  incurably  spoil  the 
new  garment  by  mangling  it.  In  either  case, 
it  will  be  observed,  the  disruptive  force  is  in 
the  new.  So  to  make  Christianity  a  mere 
addendum  to  Rabbinical  Judaism  would  only 
spoil  the  former,  and  would  not  preserve  the 
latter.  The  old  should  be  allowed  to  become 
antiquated,  and  the  new  should  be  permitted 
to  form  its  own  career. 

The  second  metaphor  is  to  the  same  effect. 
To  insist  on  the  disciples  of  Jesus  fasting 
because  the  Pharisees  and  the  disciples  of 
John  fasted  by  rule,  was  to  repress  their  joy  at 
a  time  when  they  had  a  right  to  rejoice,  and 
this  was  as  unwise  as  to  pour  new  wine  into 
old  wine-skins  and  shut  it  up.  •  The  result 
would  be  that  the  wine,  which  still  needed  to 
work  itself  clear,  would  burst  the  stiff  old 
skins  and  be  spilt.  Thus  again  the  Lord 
taught  that  a  forced  amalgamation  of  the 
old  and  the  new  dispensation  would  be  disas- 


no  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

trous  to  both.  Let  the  law  of  congruity  be 
observed.  Let  the  new  wine  be  poured  into 
new  skins  that  would  yield  and  not  burst ; 
so  would  both  form  and  substance  be  pre- 
served. 

As  for  the  old  wine,  our  Lord  gave  no 
opinion  of  its  value  ;  but  with  a  kindly  con- 
cession to  those  whose  prejudices  He  and  His 
disciples  had  offended,  He  recoguised  their 
preference  for  the  old  style  of  things.  Just 
as  on  other  occasions  He  conceded  to  the 
Pharisees  that  they  were  whole,  and  righteous, 
and  needed  no  repentance,  and  then  answered 
them  on  their  own  assumption,  so  here,  ac- 
cording to  St.  Luke's  report,  He  admitted 
that  those  who  drink  the  old  wine  prefer  it. 
It  is  a  difficult  thing  for  minds  attached  to 
use  and  wont  to  do  justice  to  new  movements, 
especially  at  the  beginning  of  such  move- 
ments, when  they  are  like  new  wine,  which 
still  has  to  outgrow  its  crudeness,  work  itself 
clear  of  sediment,  and  acquire  its  proper 
flavour.  But  the  Christian  life,  with  its  joy 
and  elasticity,  could  only  be  understood  if 
taken  as  a  new  wine,  and  therefore  it  needed 


GA  RMENTS  A  ND  WINE-SKINS.  1 i 1 

its  own  forms  of  development,  and  was  not 
to  be  restricted  by  the  precisianism  of  the 
Pharisees  and  the  disciples  of  John. 

"What  'sweet  reasonableness'  in  the  say- 
ing of  Jesus  concerning  the  old  wine  and  the 
new !  .  .  .  What  clear  insight  into  the  signi- 
ficance  of  His  own  position  and  vocation  ; 
what  confidence  in  His  own  cause  ;  what 
resolute  determination  to  maintain  His  inde- 
pendence and  to  decline  all  stultifying  com- 
promises ;  and  yet  withal,  what  patience  and 
tolerance  towards  all  honest,  earnest  men  who 
in  matters  of  religion  cannot  see  with  His 
eyes ! "  * 

*  Dr.  A.  Bruce,  Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ,  p.  308. 


(      112      ) 


XL 


THE  HARVEST  AND  THE  LABOURERS. 


"  Then  saith  He  unto  His 
disciples,  The  harvest  truly  is 
plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are 
few.  Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest,  that  He  send 
forth  labourers  into  His  harvest." 
—St.  Matt.  be.  37,  38. 


"  Say  not  ye,  There  are  yet 
four  months,  and  then  cometh 
the  harvest  ?  behold,  I  say  unto 
you,  Lift  up  your  eyes,  and  look 
on  the  fields,  that  they  are  white 
already  unto  harvest.  He  that 
reapeth  receiveth  wages,  and 
gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal ; 
that  he  that  soweth  and  he  that 
reapeth  may  rejoice  together. 
For  herein  is  the  saying  true, 
One  soweth,  and  another  reapeth. 
I  sent  you  to  reap  that  whereon 
ye  have  not  laboured  :  others 
have  laboured,  and  ye  are  entered 
into  their  labour." — St.  John  iv. 
35-38. 

On  the  occasion  mentioned  by  St.  Matthew, 
there  were  fields  of  ripe  corn  within  sight. 
"We  so  judge  because  the  time  indicated  is 
that  of  the  constituting  of  the  apostolate ; 
and  immediately  before  that  event  the  dis- 
ciples going  through  the  corn-fields  plucked 
"rubbinsr  them  in  their 


ears  and  ate  them, 


THE  HARVEST  AND  THE  LABOURERS.        113 

hands.*  The  corn  therefore  was  ripe.  The 
words  reported  by  St.  John  were  spoken 
four  months  earlier,  when  the  fields  were 
comparatively  bare.  The  Lord,  therefore, 
in  speakiDg  of  a  spiritual  harvest,  pointed 
to  the  fields  around,  in  the  one  instance  for 
a  similitude,  in  the  other  for  a  contrast. 

In  Samaria  Jesus  recognised,  and  bade  His 
disciples  recognise,  fields  already  white  to  har- 
vest. He  meant  that  the  people  were  ready  to 
hear  if  only  the  gospel  were  delivered  to  them. 
He  saw  the  country  opening  to  His  Word, 
and  crowds  prepared  by  their  very  misery  to 
welcome  good  tidings  of  health  and  peace. 

But  there  was  risk  of  letting  the  favourable 
opportunity  slip  for  want  of  preachers.  Now, 
what  can  be  more  vexatious  to  a  farmer  than 
to  see  a  bountiful  crop  ripe  in  the  fields  wast- 
ing and  spoiling  for  lack  of  hands  to  secure 
it  in  season  ?  So  grievous  was  it  to  Christ 
to  see  the  leaders  of  the  nation  indifferent 
or  hostile  to  His  heavenly  message,  and  better 
teachers  very  scarce — the  harvest  great  and 
the  labourers  few. 

*  St.  Luke  vi.  1,  12,  13. 

H 


H4  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  fields  of  opportunity  are  constantly 
widening,  and  there  is  stiJl  no  small  difficulty 
about  an  adequate  supply  of  labourers.  Home 
fields  are  scrambled  over,  and  while  there  are 
too  many  labourers  in  some  corners,  other 
spots  are  neglected.  In  foreign  fields,  labourers 
are  much  too  far  apart,  and  their  strength 
is  often  sorely  overtaxed.  It  is  easy  enough 
to  multiply  ecclesiastics,  but  labourers  to- 
gether with  God,  workmen  that  need  not 
be  ashamed,  have  always  been  too  few  for 
the  harvest  -  field.  And  field-work  needs 
labouring  men.  Especially  when  the  crop 
ripens,  time  is  precious,  and  the .  reapers  must 
not  spare  themselves  who  would  gather  the 
corn  in  its  season. 

Labourers  such  as  '  Jesus  Christ  desider- 
ated are  all  the  better  of  a  training  as 
well  as  a  will  to  work.  In  every  kind  of 
human  activity  training  tells.  Sustained 
and  thorough  work  of  a  hisrh  class  cannot 
be  had  without  it.  And  we  find  that  our 
Lord  was  at  great  pains  with  the  training 
of  the  twelve.  But  the  first  requisite  for 
labourers   is  that  thev  be    sent  to  the  work 


THE  HARVEST  AND  THE  LABOURERS.        115 

by  the  Lord  of  the  harvest.  And  the  Church 
must  pray  continually  to  have  such  labourers 
sent,  and  that  with  a  certain  force  of  con- 
viction and  pressure  of  conscience  bearing 
them  over  scruples  and  fears,  and  compel- 
ling them  to  preach  the  gospel. 

While  Jesus  was  on  earth  in  the  form  of 
a  servant,  the  Father  in  heaven  was  Lord  of 
the  harvest.  Therefore  He  prayed  to  the 
Father  the  whole  nidit  through  before  He 
called  and  commissioned  the  twelve ;  and 
we  must  hope  that  the  disciples,  in  obedience 
to  His  word,  also  prayed  to  the  Father  on 
that  night  to  send  out  labourers.  In  the 
morning  the  prayer  was  answered  in  the  selec- 
tion  and  mission  of  the  twelve  apostles. 

Now  that  Jesus  has  ascended,  and  is  Lord 
and  Head  of  the  Church,  and  over  all  thino-s 
to  the  Church,  it  is  right  to  regard  and  in- 
voke Him  as  Lord  of  the  harvest ;  for  His 
is  the  gift  of  labourers.  "  He  has  given 
some  to  be  apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and 
some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and 
teachers."  * 

*  Eph.  iv.  11. 


n6  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  question,  perhaps,  suggests  itself — 
"  Why  are  we  required  to  solicit  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest  on  such  a  point  as  this  % " 
The  fields  are  His,  and  He  must  know  the 
value  of  opportunity  and  the  need  of 
labourers  far  better  than  we.  Surely  He 
will  of  His  own  accord  provide  labourers. 
But  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  prayer 
is  enjoined  in  order  to  tell  the  Lord  what 
He  does  not  know,  or  to  persuade  Him  to 
do  what  He  might  otherwise  neglect.  A 
great  object  of  it  is  to  bring  the  hearts  of 
His  followers  into  harmony  with  the  will  of 
Christ  and  of  God.  So  in  the  matter  of 
harvest-work,  our  Lord  wished  His  disciples 
to  be  in  unison  wTith  Himself  and  with  the 
Father  in  heaven  on  the  great  and  urgent 
task  of  preaching  the  gospel  and  saving  the 
people.  He  would  have  them  desire  what 
He  already  desired.  It  is  the  same  thing- 
still.  The  Church  praying  for  missionaries 
is  praying  according  to  the  will  of  God.  The 
petition,  "  Thy  kingdom  come  ! "  is  well  fol- 
lowed by  "  Thy  will  be  done  ! " 

"  He  that  reapeth   receiveth   wages."     All 


THE  HARVEST  AND  THE  LABOURERS.        117 

honest  humble  labour  in  the  field  shall  have 
gracious  reward  at  the  Lord's  appearing. 
"They  that  turn  many  to  righteousness 
shall  shine  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 


(     n8     ) 


XII. 

SERPENTS  AND  DOVES. 

"  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves :  be 
ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves." 

— St.  Matt.  x.  16. 

The  apostles  of  Christ,  wlien  persecuted, 
were  not  to  attempt  to  meet  force  by  force 
of  the  same  description.  They  could  no  more 
fight  their  enemies  than  sheep  can  fight  a 
pack  of  wolves.  They  were  to  be  defence- 
less, as  their  Master  was,  against  the  malice 
of  those  who  hated  them.  And  as  He  was 
put  to  death  by  cruel  men,  who  compassed 
Him  about  as  so  many  wild  dogs,  so  also 
would  some  of  them  be.  Yet  the  result  of 
the  conflict  was  to  be  in  favour  of  the 
"  little  flock."  The  weak  were  to  confound 
the  mighty  ;  the  sheep  were  to  keep  the 
wolves  at  bay;  for  there  is  a  Divine  Keeper 
of  the  sheep  who  knows  how  to  lay  restraint 


SERPENTS  A  ND  DO  VES.  1 1 9 

on  enemies  of  His  flock,  and  to  oive  the 
conquest  to  the  weak.  The  meek  endurance 
of  the  apostles  and  other  messengers  of 
Christ  was  to  win  a  signal  victory. 

By  a  double  reference  to  the  serpents  and 
the  doves  of  Palestine,  the  Lord  indicated 
to  His  apostles  the  spirit  in  which  they 
ought  to  meet  hardship  and  violence.  They 
should  combine  the  wariness  of  serpents  in 
respect  of  danger  with  the  guilelessness  of 
doves.  It  is  a  blending  of  qualities,  a 
balancing  and  harmonising  of  apparent  op- 
posites,  which  no  one  attains  to  without 
pains  and  prayer.  The  men  of  Galilee  who 
were  going  out  under  their  first  apostolic 
mission  were  not  by  any  means  as  yet  up 
to  this  standard.  The  Master  said  to  them, 
"Become  ye  prudent  as  the  serpents,  but 
unwily  as  the  doves."  The  servants  of 
Christ  should  be,  on  the  one  hand,  wary, 
but  not  crafty ;  on  the  other,  simple,  but  not 
simpletons. 

I.   "  Wary  as  the  serpents" 

The  illustration  must  be  confined  to  the  one 


120  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

point  which  is  indicated.  He  who  on  another 
occasion  stigmatised  the  hypocritical  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  as  "  serpents "  and  "  the  off- 
spring of  vipers "  *  was  not  likely  to  bid 
His  apostles  be  "as  serpents."  He  spoke  of 
serpentlike  prudence  evidently  with  an  ex- 
clusive reference  to  the  shrewd  instinct  by 
which  those  creatures  perceive  impending 
danger  and  avoid  it.  His  apostles  ought 
not  to  offer  themselves  to  injury  or  mar- 
tyrdom, or  involve  themselves  needlessly  in 
trouble  or  danger.  They  were  bound  to  use 
discretion,  and  even  astuteness,  in  avoiding 
mischief  and  guarding  life  and  liberty. 

"Beware  of  men"  is  the  counsel  which 
immediately  follows.  If  the  apostles  found 
themselves  involved  in  danger  and  arraigned 
"  before  governors  and  kings,"  they  were  not 
to  fear,  but  speak  out  as  "the  Spirit  of  the 
Father"  would  guide  and  embolden  them  to 
do  ;  but  if  they  could  foresee,  and  with  a 
good  conscience  avoid,  such  peril,  self-preser- 
vation was  not  to  be  despised  as  pusillanimity, 
but  to  be  attended  to  as  a  reasonable  duty. 

*  St.  Matt,  xxiii.  33. 


SERPENTS  AND  DOVES.   .  121 

It  may  be  supposed  that  men  hardly  need 
exhortation  to  take  care  of  themselves ;    but 
in  point  of  fact  men  do  need  such  admonition 
when  they  are  carried  away  by  a  strong  en- 
thusiasm.    It  is   a  familiar  incident  in   war 
that  young  soldiers,   ardent  and  burning  for 
distinction,  foolishly    and    unnecessarily    ex- 
pose themselves,  and  are  with  difficulty  re- 
strained.     Something  like  this    appeared  in 
the  Church   of  Christ  after  a  generation  or 
two    had  passed.      There    arose    a    fanatical 
thirst  for  martyrdom,  stimulated  by  the  ex- 
cessive honour  which  had   come  to  be  paid 
to  the  names   and   relics  of   the    slain    con- 
fessors of  Christ.     But  this  was  a  departure 
from  the  example  and  teaching  of  the  Saviour 
Himself  and   of  His    apostles.      He  avoided 
capture    by    His    enemies    till  the    set    time 
appointed  by  the  Father  for  His  being  offered 
up  at  Jerusalem.     He  directed  His  disciples, 
when  they  should  be  persecuted  in  one  city, 
to   flee    to    another.      And   instances    of  the 
avoidance  of  danger  are  obvious  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.     When  Paul  and  Barnabas 
"were  ware,"  or  became  aware,  of  an  inten- 


122  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

tion  to  assault  them  at  Iconium,  they  did 
well  to  flee  to  the  cities  of  Lycaonia.  When 
the  former  of  them  was  at  Epbesus,  and  a 
great  tumult  was  stirred  up  in  defence  of  the 
worship  of  Diana,  the  brethren  did  well  who 
kept  him  back  from  gratuitous  exposure  to 
danger.  They  suffered  him  not  to  "  enter  in 
unto  the  people."  And  the  Asiarchs  who 
were  his  judicious  friends  desired  him  not 
to  "  adventure  himself  into  the  theatre."  The 
same  Apostle,  as  brave  a  spirit  as  ever  lived, 
repeatedly  showed  in  time  of  danger  his 
obedience  to  the  Lord's  word  in  favour  of 
wariness.  He  skilfully  hushed  an  angry  mob 
at  Jerusalem  by  turning  from  the  Greek  lan- 
guage in  which  he  had  spoken  to  the  Roman 
commandant,  and  addressing  the  crowd  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue.  With  similar  astuteness,  he 
cast  discord  among;  his  enemies  in  the  Jewish 
Council,  rousing  the  Pharisees  against  the 
Sadducees,  till  the  din  brought  the  guard  of 
soldiers  to  his  rescue. 

It  is  enough  to  indicate  the  kind  of  pru- 
dence which  our  Lord  enjoined.  Particular 
cases  in  w^ich  it  should  be  exercised  must  be 


SERPENTS  AND  DOVES.  123 

judged  of  one  by  one  as  they  occur.  The 
general  principle  is  that  a  servant  of  Christ 
should  not  court  reproach,  invite  trouble,  or 
involve  himself  in  suffering  or  in  danger,  if  he 
may  honourably  and  conscientiously  avoid  it. 
And  by  inference  we  get  a  similar  direction 
for  active  service.  Zeal  is  good,  but  if  not 
associated  with  tact  and  discretion,  it  may  do 
harm  by  provoking  irritation  against  the  truth 
and  exposing  holy  things  to  contempt. 

No  doubt  there  is  difficulty  on  either  side ; 
and  a  good  man  trying  to  keep  the  balance 
between  the  extremes  of  caution  and  rashness 
may  easily  be  misconstrued.  When  he  is  bold, 
he  may  be  represented  as  forward  and  vain- 
glorious. When  he  is  guarded,  he  may  be 
stigmatised  as  selfish  and  designing.  It  is 
evident  that  St.  Paul  was  blamed  by  some  for 
boldness,  and  by  others  for  duplicity ;  and 
indeed  it  is  no  bad  sign  of  any  Christian  man 
that  he  is  accused  of  opposite  faults,  and  from 
opposite  directions.  Every  servant  of  the 
Lord  who  is  of  any  public  use  has  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  censure,  and  have  darts  thrown 
at  him  from  opposite  sides.     If  he  is  valiant 


124  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

for  the  truth,  there  are  always  some  to  call 
him  forward,  intolerant,  controversial,  fussy, 
perhaps  a  little  crazy.  If  he  is  discreet,  there 
are  those  who  put  him  down  at  once  as  a 
knowing  fellow,  who  plays  his  cards  shrewdly 
in  religion,  and  studies  his  own  interest. 

The  good  man  need  not  be  greatly  disturbed 
by  such  unjust  imputations,  so  long  as  he  has 
the  testimony  of  a  pure  conscience.  At  the 
same  time  he  mav  learn  something  even  from 
unfair  reproach.  He  may  see  in  what  respects 
his  conduct  may  lie  open  to  question,  and  his 
good  may  be  "  evil  spoken  of."  He  may  per- 
ceive how  necessary  it  is  to  exercise  caution 
and  prudence  so  as  to  preclude  offence,  if  that 
be  possible,  and  raise  no  obstacles  to  his  own 
usefulness  of  a  kind  that  a  little  forethought 
and  self-control  might  have  obviated.  He 
who  becomes  wise  as  the  serpent  will  avoid 
not  only  serious  dangers,  but  also  those 
blunders  in  manner  and  breaches  of  temper 
which  hinder  much  o-ood. 

IT.   "  And  guileless  as  the  cloves." 

No   doiibt   the    word    "  harmless "   has    an 


SERPENTS  AND  DOVES.  125 

appropriate  meaning,  for  the  apostles  were 
to  suffer  wrong,  not  to  inflict  it.  But  such  is 
the  idea  conveyed  in  the  figure  of  unresisting 
sheep  surrounded  by  wolves.  The  character- 
istic of  the  dove  intended  by  Christ  was 
evidently  meant  to  balance  the  knowingness 
of  the  serpent.  And  this  is  the  unwiliness  of 
that  bird — the  figure  of  a  pure  and  ingenuous 
nature.  So  the  apostles  of  Christ,  while  be- 
having themselves  prudently,  were  to  ignore 
wiles  and  stratagems,  and  pursue  their  ministry 
with  a  holy  frankness  and  simplicity.  They 
might  often  seem  to  throw  themselves  at  the 
mercy  of  those  who  would  fly  at  them  as 
hawks  at  turtledoves.  Yet  the  innocent  cloves 
would  defeat  the  hawks,  as  the  sheep  were  to 
overcome  the  wolves.     Blessed  are  the  meek. 

The  Lord  Jesus  is  the  consummate  example 
to  illustrate  His  own  teaching.  He  was  always 
on  His  guard,  and  penetrated  all  the  man- 
oeuvres and  plots  of  those  who  watched  and 
hated  Him.  He  fell  into  none  of.  their  snares  ; 
never  lost  self-possession;  never  spoke  at 
random  ;  uttered  all  His  words  and  conducted 
all    His  intercourse   with    infinite    discretion. 


126  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

But  He  formed  no  counterplots  and  devised 
no  stratagems.  No  craft  was  in  His  bosom ; 
no  guile  was  in  His  mouth.  Everywhere  He 
showed  that  the  Spirit  which  rested  upon  Him 
had  descended  in  the  form  of  a  dove. 

So  let  our  wisdom  be  meekness  of  wisdom. 
Be  not  all  serpent,  subtle  serpent !  Be  not  all 
dove,  silly  dove ! 


(     1*7    ) 


XITI. 


CHILDREN  AT  PLAY. 


"But  wkereunto  shall  I  liken 
this  generation  ?  It  is  like  unto 
children  sitting  in  the  market- 
places, which  call  unto  their 
fellows,  and  say,  "We  piped  unto 
you,  and  ye  did  not  dance  ;  we 
wailed,  and  ye  did  not  mourn. 
For  John  came  neither  eating 
nor  drinking,  and  they  say,  He 
hath  a  devil.  The  Son  of  Man 
came  eating  and  drinking,  and 
they  say,  Behold,  a  gluttonous 
man,  and  a  wine-bibber,  a  friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners  !  And 
wisdom  is  justified  by  her  works." 
—St.  Matt.  xi.  16-19. 


"  Whereunto  then  shall  I  liken 
the  men  of  this  generation,  and 
to  what  are  they  like  ?  They  are 
like  unto  children  that  sit  in 
the  market-place,  and  call  one 
to  another;  which  say,  We  piped 
unto  you,  and  ye  did  not  dance  ; 
we  wailed,  and  ye  did  not  weep. 
For  John  the  Baptist  is  come 
eatiDg  no  bread  nor  drinking 
wine  ;  and  3Te  say,  He  hath  a 
devil.  The  Son  of  Man  is  come 
eating  and  drinking  ;  and  ye  say, 
Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  anil 
a  wine-bibber,  a  friend  of  publi- 
cans and  sinners  !  " — St.  Luke 
vii.  31-34. 


The  difference  between  John  the  Baptist  and 
Jesus  Christ  was  laid  hold  of  by  unfriendly 
minds  to  justify  their  non-reception  of  the 
Saviour :  whereupon  He  showed  that  their 
bearing  alike  toward  His  forerunner  and  to- 
ward Himself  had  been  childish  and  petulant. 
The  ascetic  life  of  John  had  offended  them 


128  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

on  the  one  hand  ;  the  gracious  social  deport- 
ment of  Jesus  offended  them  on  the  other. 

To  give  point  to  this  statement  He  intro- 
duced an  illustration  "which  might  never  have 
occurred  to  a  solitary  like  John,  but  was  quite 
natural  in  the  lips  of  Jesus,  who  had  lived  in 
towns,  and  was  accustomed  to  pass  through 
streets  and  market-places.  With  the  interest 
and  sympathy  that  belonged  to  His  genuine 
human  heart,  He  had  observed  the  sports  of 
children  in  their  noisy  glee.  So  He  pictured 
a  group  of  little  children  playing  at  make- 
believe  marriages  and  funerals.  First  they 
acted  a  marriage  procession ;  some  of  them 
piping  as  on  instruments  of  music,  while  the 
rest  were  expected  to  leap  and  dance.  In  a 
perverse  mood,  however,  these  last  did  not 
respond,  but  stood  still  and  looked  discon- 
tented. So  the  little  pipers  changed  their 
game  and  proposed  a  funeral.  They  began  to 
imitate  the  loud  wailing  of  Eastern  "mourners. 
But  again  they  were  thwarted,  for  their  com- 
panions refused  to  chime  in  with  the  mourn- 
ful cry  and  to  beat  their  breasts.  Neither 
the    one  ygame    nor    the    other    suited    their 


CHILDREN  AT  PLAY.  '  129 

petulant  spirit.  So  the  disappointed  children 
who  had  struck  up  the  wedding-march  and 
then  changed  it  for  the  funeral  wail  com- 
plained, "  We  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  did  not 
dance  ;  we  wailed,  and  ye  did  not  mourn." 
"  Nothing  pleases  you.  If  you  don't  want  to 
dance,  why  don't  you  mourn  ?  Or,  if  you 
don't  like  the  funeral  play,  why  did  you 
refuse  the  marriage  ?  It  is  plain  that  you 
are  iu  bad  humour,  and  determined  not  to 
be  pleased." 

So  was  it  with  the  generation  which  sur- 
rounded our  Saviour.  They  refused  John 
the  Baptist  because  he  was  too  austere,  and 
then  refused  Jesus  under  the  pretext  that 
He  was  not  austere  enough.  It  was  evident 
that  they  judged  and  acted,  not  on  grounds 
of  reason,  but  on  mere  caprice  and  prejudice. 

It  was  spoken  in  pleasant  fashion,  but  it 

was    a   sharp   rebuke.     It    is    well    to   be  as 

children  in  simplicity,  but  not  at  all  well  to 

be  like  them  in  mere  petulance  and  folly.    A 

childish  person  is  one  whose  moral  judgment 

is  worth  little,  and  whose  character  evolves 

no  moral  force.     A  childish  generation  must 

I 


i3o  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

be  in  its  dotage,   and   its  opinions  have  no 
title  to  respect. 

The  games  of  the  children  in  this  similitude 
were  so  selected  as  to  suggest  the  contrast 
between  the  Saviour  and  the  Baptist.  But 
in  the  history  the  more  severe  ministry  went 
first,  and  that  which  was  genial  and  gracious 
followed.  First  appeared  John,  a  dweller  in 
solitudes,  holding  himself  aloof  from  the 
domestic  and  social  life  of  his  countrymen, 
clothed  with  the  power  and  animated  by  the 
spirit  of  the  prophet  Elijah.  He  was  seen  in 
his  dress  of  camel's  hair,  with  sad  countenance, 
inveighing  against  the  evils  of  the  time,  and 
summoning:  men  of  all  orders  and  classes  to 
repentance.  At  the  tables  of  other  men  he 
was  not  seen.  He  "  came  neither  eating  nor 
drinking,"  for  he  found  enough  in  the  desert 
for  his  simple  wants.  Such  a  man  and  such 
a  ministry  ought  to  have  made  a  profound 
impression  on  a  people  who  gloried  in  the 
memory  of  those  prophets  of  the  desert,  Moses 
and  Elijah.  And  for  a  little  while  John 
seemed  to  have  a  great  success.  Multitudes 
took  him*  for  a  prophet,  and  repaired  to  him 


CHILDREN  AT  PLAY.  131 

for    baptism.       A   certain    number   attached 
themselves  closely  to   him  as   his   disciples  ; 
but   these  appear  to  have  been  uninfluential 
Galileans,   like  the  disciples  of  Jesus.      The 
rulers  made  some  inquiry  as  to  the  claim  of 
John   to  be  a  prophet,  but  came  to  no  con- 
clusion, and  never  were  baptized.     Then  they 
began    to   speak    against   him,    professing   to 
regard   his   austerity  as   indicative  of  a  dis- 
ordered brain  or  of  demonic  possession.     In 
all  times  and  countries,  self-indulgent  people 
are    disposed    to    set    down    any   one    whose 
manner    of  life    tacitly   reproves    their    own 
as    "a  bit  of   a  fanatic,"   or  as  more  or  less 
crazy. 

Still,  the  rulers  would,  at  all  events,  have 
been  consistent  with  themselves  if  they  had 
adhered  to  the  view  that  austerity  is  demonic 
rather  than  divine.  But  their  behaviour  to 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  showed  that  they  proceeded 
in  their  judgment  on  no  consistent  principle, 
but  on  suggestions  of  prejudice  and  malice. 
The  Son  of  Man  entered  the  houses  of  men 
and  sat  at  their  tables.  Freely  He  mixed  with 
home  life,  and  was  both  accessible  and  svm- 


132  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

pathetic.  He  preached  repentance,  not  in 
the  deserts,  but  in  houses  and  in  the  streets. 
And  lo  !  the  rulers,  who  had  disdained  the 
desert  preacher  as  a  demoniac,  reviled  the 
street  and  house  preacher  as  lax  and  given 
to  pampering  the  flesh.  Xeither  tone  of  cha- 
racter, neither  mode  of  ministry,  could  find 
favour,  or  even  win  fair  play,  from  that  per- 
verse generation. 

This  sort  of  unreason  shows  itself  a^ain 
and  again.  Men  will  find  fault  with  Christ 
and  Christianity,  put  the  matter  how  you 
will.  The  doctrine  is  too  high  or  not  high 
enough.  The  precepts  are  too  austere  or  too 
indefinite.  The  gospel  is  too  hard  or  too 
easy.  Prejudice  can  always  find  some  objec- 
tion ;  and  proud  men  who  do  not  like  John 
because  he  preaches  repentance,  do  not  like 
Jesus  because  He  not  only  preaches  repent- 
ance, but  brings  gratuitous  salvation  to  the 
heart  and  to  the  home. 

The  attitude  of  Christians  toward  society 
is  not  seldom  made  a  ground  of  censure  by 
persons  who  have  a  good  deal  in  common 
with  the  Pharisees  and  rulers   of  the  Jews. 


CHILDREN  AT  PLAY.  133 

They  are  too  unsocial  or  they  are  too  social. 
The  critics  are  hard  to  please.  If  a  Christian 
be  reserved  in  his  habits  and  a  lover  of  re- 
tirement, they  describe  him  as  narrow  and 
ungenial.  If  he  be  frank  and  accessible,  they 
shake  their  heads  over  his  worldliness  and 
inordinate  love  of  society.  He  is  never  quite 
right  in  their  eyes.  He  is  too  strict  or  too 
yielding  ;  too  gloomy  or  too  happy ;  too 
cautious  or  too  bold  ;  too  shrewd  or  too 
simple.  Let  not  such  judgments  of  men 
disconcert  or  discourage  any  who  with  an 
honest  heart  endeavour  to  be  true  to  Christ. 
The  Lord  Himself  is  our  Master  and  our  Ex- 
ample. Therefore  we  do  right  to  enter  the 
houses  and  sit  at  the  tables  of  our  friends 
when  they  invite  us.  But  there  and  everv- 
where  we  are  to  bear  ourselves  as  becomes 
His  disciples.  How  far  we  may  mingle  with 
those  who  are  the  modern  representatives  of 
'•'the  publicans  and  sinners'"  is  a  question  of 
discretion.  What  is  safe  for  very  decided 
Christians  may  be  imprudent  in  those  who 
are  less  experienced.  What  carries  little 
risk  to  those  of  full  a^e  mav  be  verv  dan- 


134  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

gerous  for  the  young.  We  may  draw  near 
to  the  classes  of  persons  alluded  to  (and  they 
are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  lowest  social 
ranks),  if  one  can  do  so  after  the  manner  of 
Christ,  not  to  be  partakers  of  other  men's 
sins  or  to  countenance  their  excess,  but  to 
turn  them  from  their  sins  and  win  them 
back  to  God.  All  the  while  we  must  be  on 
our  guard  against  the  contamination  of  our 
own  imaginations  and  hearts,  for  we  have  not 
that  perfect  inward  purity  of  Christ,  which 
could  no  more  be  sullied  by  proximity  to  the 
publicans  and  sinners  than  the  daylight  is 
soiled  by  glancing  on  refuse  and  corruption. 


(    135    ) 


XIV. 

BAD    LEAVEN. 

"And  Jesus  said  "And  he  charged  "He  hegan  to  say 
unto  them,  Take  heed  them,  saying,  Take  unto  His  disciples  first 
and  beware  of  the  lea-  heed,  beware  of  the  of  all,  Beware  ye  of 
ven  of  the  Pharisees  leaven  of  the  Phari-  the  leaven  of  the  Pha- 
and  Sadducees.  .  .  .  sees  and  the  leaven  of  risees,  which  is  hy- 
Then  understood  they  Herod."— St.  Mark,  pocrisy."— St.  Luke 
how  that  he  bade  them    viii.  15.  xii.  1. 

not  beware  of  the  lea- 
ven of  bread,  but  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Phari- 
sees and  Sadducees." 
— St.  Matt.  xvi.  6, 12. 


However  hostile  to  each  other,  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  made  common  cause  against 
Jesus  Christ.  He  encountered  them  even  in 
remote  corners  of  the  land.  For  example,  on 
the  occasion  of  a  visit  which  He  paid  to 
"  the  borders  of  Magadan,"  or  parts  of  Dalma- 
nutha,  members  of  both  these  sects  accosted 
Him  so  soon  as  He  landed  from  the  boat,  and 
called  His  prophetic   mission  in  question  by 


136  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

demanding;  of  Him  "  a  sisfn  from  heaven." 
At  once  He  detected  the  unfriendly  and  un- 
reasonable temper  which  actuated  the  demand ; 
so  He  refused  it,  and  re-embarking,  departed 
out  of  their  coasts.  St.  Mark  adds  the  graphic 
and  pathetic  touch  that  our  Lord  "  sighed 
deeply  in  His  spirit." 

He  recrossed  the  lake,  the  disciples,  as 
usual,  managing  the  boat.  Apparently  He  was 
silent  on  the  way,  musing  in  sorrow  on  the 
indisposition  shown  by  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees  even  in  a  rural  district  far  from  the 
headquarters  of  those  sects  at  Jerusalem.  The 
whole  country  was  pervaded  by  their  influ- 
ence. At  last  He  broke  silence  with  this  charge 
to  His  disciples,  "  Take  heed,  and  beware  of  the 
leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  ! "  The 
apostles  were  perplexed.  Their  thoughts  had 
not  been  running  in  the  same  groove  with 
His.  If  they  had  been  reflecting  on  what  had 
happened  at  Dalmanutha,  not  improbably  they 
had  regretted  that  their  Master  did  not  satisfy 
the  demand  of  those  who  met  Him,  and  that 
He  so  quickly  and  abruptly  turned  away. 
He   was   sorrowful   because    those   people   of 


BAD  LEAVEN.  137 

Dalmanutha  had  craved  of  Him  "  a  sign  from 
heaven."  The  disciples  were  disappointed 
that  He  had  not  shown  some  celestial  sign 
or  prodigy,  and  so  silenced  the  gainsayers. 
Thus,  at  cross  purposes  with  Him,  they  were 
not  quick  to  catch  His  meaning.  They  fell 
on  a  prosaic  and  almost  paltry  explanation  of 
His  metaphor,  supposing  that  the  Master  re- 
ferred to  their  having  omitted  to  take  a  sup- 
ply of  bread  with  them  for  the  little  voyage  ; 
and  thus  they  added  yet  another  to  the  list  of 
blunders  and  misconceptions  with  which  they 
tried  the  patience  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

To  understand  the  surmise  of  the  disciples, 
one  must  bear  in  mind  the  scruples  of  Jewish 
casuistry  regarding  the  lawfulness  of  taking 
leaven  from  certain  parties.  Dr.  John  Light- 
foot  has  shown  that  Rabbinical  teachers  gravely 
discussed  the  question  whether  leaven  for 
baking  bread  might  be  accepted  from  a 
heathen,  and  suggests  that  the  disciples  on 
this  occasion  supposed  their  Master  to  be 
laying  down  a  regulation  against  the  taking 
of  household  baking-leaven  from   a  Pharisee 

or  a  Sadducee.* 

*  Horse  Hebraicce,  in  loco. 


1 38  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

But  on  the  lips  of  Jesus  leaven  was  a  meta- 
phor. He  meant  that  His  disciples  should 
beware  of  the  teaching  of  these  sects.  The 
point  of  analogy  is  the  self-diffusing  power 
of  any  doctrine  that  accords  with  the  self- 
righteous  and  self- pleasing  tendencies  of 
human  nature.  Such  teaching  by  the  Phari- 
sees and  Sadducees  had  spread  through  the 
community,  just  as  leaven  might  spread 
through  a  mass  of  dousrh.  Let  the  disci- 
pies  look  to  it  that  they  themselves  should 
not  come  under  the  influence  of  this  evil 
leaven ! 

It  is  important  to  the  interpretation  to 
notice  that  although,  according  to  the  various 
accounts,  our  Lord  spoke  of  three  sects,  He 
ascribed  to  them  one  and  the  same  leaven. 
From  this  it  is  obvious  that  His  reference  was 
not  so  much  to  the  distinctive  tenets  of  the 
sects  as  to  a  way  of  thinking  and  judging 
which  was  common  to  them  all,  and  especially 
their  mode  of  testing  His  Divine  mission  by 
a  demand  for  signs  from  heaven.  The  leaven 
of  the  Pharisees  was  hypocrisy.  They  were 
the  conventional,   traditional,  and   ritualistic 


BAD  LEAVEN,  139 

party.  Zealots  for  the  law  and  the  oral  tra- 
ditions, which  interpreted  and  supplemented 
the  law,  they  were  incensed  against  the  un- 
conventional and  heart-searching  ministry  of 
Jesus ;  and  their  implied  offer  to  believe  in 
Him,  provided  that  He  would  work  such  a 
prodigy  as  they  demanded,  was  but  a  hollow 
pretext.  The  Sadducees  were  the  rationalistic 
party  of  the  period,  and  were  of  a  worldly  and 
self-pleasing  temper.  For  those  cold  scep- 
tics to  ask  a  sign  from  heaven  was  an  arrant 
piece  of  hypocrisy.  With  them  the  Herodians 
seem  to  be  joined,  either  because  the  Galilean 
Sadducees  were  prominent  adherents  of  the 
shallow,  pleasure-loving  Tetrarch,  or  because 
Herod  himself  wras  a  Sadducee. 

The  bearing  of  all  those  sects  towards  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  was  insincere  and  heartless.  They 
were  restive  under  His  word,  so  pure,  so  fresh, 
so  divinely  simple :  so  they  combined  to  dispute 
His  claims  and  resist  His  growing  influence. 
And  this  way  of  thinking  and  judging  spread 
from  them  to  many  who  wrere  not  of  the  sects, 
making  the  ministry  of  Jesus  increasingly  diffi- 
cult.    It  worked  like  leaven  ;  and  the  apostles 


140  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

themselves  were  liable  to  be  infected  by  it  if 
they  did  not  beware. 

One  may  see  that  wherever  Jesus  Christ 
goes  in  this  world,  the  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees  come  forth  to  meet  Him,  and  do  what 
they  can  to  drive  Him  away.  The  tenden- 
cies which  those  sects  exhibited  in  Judea 
and  Galilee  are  in  human  nature,  and  re- 
appear in  the  religious  history  of  every 
people. 

There  is  always  a  party  of  ostentatious 
strictness,  of  elaborate  regulations  and  cere- 
monial rigour.  And  of  the  same  school, 
though  they  may  loudly  disclaim  it,  are 
many  vehement  anti-ritualists,  who  are  far 
too  conscious  of  their  own  superior  type  of 
piety,  and  despise  others.  All  those  Phari- 
sees have  a  certain  hardness  and  pedantry  of 
judgment,  and  are  quite  out  of  sympathy 
with  the  Divine  "love  to  the  world."  It 
is  a  repellant  pragmatical  style  of  religious- 
ness, intensely  opposed  to  the  mind  of 
Christ. 

There  is  always  a  party  of  rationalists, 
and  with  them    are    those    who    think  that 


BAD  LEAVEN.  141 

religion  ought  to  be  regulated  by  the  State — 
a  sort  of  modern  Herodians.  These  Saddu- 
cees  do  not  propose  to  dispense  with  faith 
altogether,  but  they  are  always  anxious  that 
it  should  not  "  go  too  far."  Their  idea  is 
to  let  the  supernatural  element  disperse  in 
thin  vapour,  and  to  be  content  with  a  moral 
system  elegantly  embellished  with  high  sen- 
timents, and  not  too  severe  in  its  exactions. 
This  way  of  thinking,  working  as  it  does 
equally  with  Pharisaism  against  the  gospel, 
has  the  same  leaven  ;  and  it  sjjreads  not  so 
much  by  any  argument  or  intellectual  per- 
suasion, as  by  a  sort  of  contagion,  taking  hold 
of  the  minds  that  are  naturally  predisposed 
either  to  self-pleasing  rigour  or  to  self-pleasino- 
laxity. 

Our  Saviour  gave  place  to  those  sectaries 
no,  not  a  hair's  breadth.  He  would  not  gra- 
tify their  demand  for  a  sign,  or  in  any  degree 
diverge  from  His  appointed  path  to  conciliate 
them.  And  this  is  all  the  more  remarkable 
when  we  consider  how  accessible  He  was  to 
inquirers  and  petitioners  of  all  ranks,  how 
kind  to  the  populace,  and  how  patient  with 


142  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

His  own  blundering  and  questioning  disciples. 
There  was  reason  for  it.  The  demand  for  a 
sign  from  heaven  betrayed  a  temper  of  mind 
which  could  not  and  should  not  be  satisfied. 
It  implied  that  all  the  proofs  of  His  Divine 
mission  already  given  by  words  of  truth  and 
works  of  healing  were  doubtful  or  inadequate, 
and  that  He  might  be  required  to  play  the 
magician  at  every  place  which  He  visited  in 
order  to  convince  His  opponents  that  He  was 
a  man  sent  from  God.  To  yield  to  such  a 
demand  would  have  been  to  put  a  premium 
on  obstinate  unbelief. 

Christians  ought  in  this  to  learn  of  Christ. 
There  are  demands  for  evidence  which  should 
not  be  heeded.  A  temper  of  prejudice  and 
antipathy  is  not  to  be  humoured.  Beware 
of  the  bad  leaven  !  There  are  evidences 
enough  to  satisfy  a  candid  mind.  And  those 
who,  in  sympathy  with  Jesus,  are  bent  on 
doing  the  Father's  will,  know  quite  well  that 
His  doctrine  is  from  God. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  tlje  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  could  not  let  Jesus  alone.  If 
the  one  sect  was  sure  of  its  le^al  righteous- 


BAD  LEAVEN.  I43 

ness,    and  the  other  of  its   worldly-wise  ra- 
tionalism,  surely  they  might    have  left   the 
Nazarene  and  His  followers  in  peace.     But 
they  were  not  so  sure  as  they  affected  to  be ; 
they  were  not  at  rest,  and  so  they  were  in- 
quisitive about  every  symptom  of  a  new  re- 
ligious movement.     One  sees  this  in  the  fact 
that  they  went  to  John's  baptism ;  on  which 
occasion  they  heard  a  startling  exclamation 
from  that  fearless  preacher.     "  0  offspring  of 
vipers,    who   warned    you    to   flee    from   the 
wrath  to  come  ? "     The  Saviour  felt  the  same 
moral  repugnance.      He   had  come  to  abase 
the  proud  and  exalt  the  lowly ;  and  between 
Him  and  those  upholders  of  their  own  rio-ht- 
eousness  and  their  own   wisdom  there  could 
be    no    mutual    understanding    or    concord. 
And   as   it    was    then,    so    is    it    still.       The 
Pharisaism  and  Sadduceeism  which  so  largely 
leaven  society  are  incompatible  with   Christ 
and  the  gospel.      They  have  a  fatal  power 
of   driving    the    Saviour    away,   and   making 
Him  "sigh  deeply  in  His  spirit." 


(     144    ) 


XV. 

THE    CHURCH  ROCK. 

"  And  I  also  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Church  ;  and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it."— St.  Matt.  xvi.  18. 

"  Thou  art  Petros,  and  on  this  petra  I  will 
build  my  Church."  The  French  version  of 
Ostervald  loses  the  play  of  words  by  making 
them  identical.  "  Tu  es  Pierre,  et  sur  cette 
pierre,"  &c.  The  phrase  has  been  turned 
over  and  over  in  controversy,  and  made  to 
appear  full  of  difficulty  ;  but  in  reality  the 
metaplior  is  Dot  at  nil  obscure. 

Take  together  all  those  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture which  refer  to  the  Church  as  a  holy 
temple,  aud  to  its  foundation-stone,  and  you 
will  find  that  they  fall  into  two  classes. 
Virtually  the  same  illustration  is  used  in  both, 
but  it  is  differently  applied. 

In  one<class  of  Scriptures,  God  is  the  builder 


THE  CHURCH  ROCK.  ,4S 

of  the  Church,  and  Christ  is  its  corner-stone 
and  sure  foundation.     If  at  Corinth  St.  Paul 
.     "  as  a  wise  master-builder  laid  a  foundation," 
he  did  so  simply  by  making  known  the  risen 
Saviour;    for,   as  he  was  careful  to  explain, 
"other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ."  *     This 
is  truth  most  precious  to  the  believing  heart, 
and  it  is  the  desire  to  make  this  all-promi- 
nent which  has  led  so  many  to  insist  that  our 
Lord,   in  using  the   word  petra,   must  have 
pointed  to  Himself.     But  the  simple  fact  is 
that   the   way  of  using    the    metaphor  was 
different. 

In  the  second  class  of  passages,  of  which 
Christ's  word  to  St.  Peter  is  the  chief  in- 
stance, our  Lord  is  Himself  the  builder,  and 
the  apostles  as  witnesses  to  Him  form  the 
foundation  or  first  row  of  stones,  on  which 
all  the  living  stones  of  the  Church  are  "  built 
together."  Thus  is  avoided  the  awkwardness 
of  describing  our  Lord  as  both  the  builder  and 
the  foundation  of  the  same  edifice.  And  it 
was  very  natural  that  under  this  use  of  the 

*  i  Cor.  iii.  9-1 1.    See  also  Ps.  cxviii.  22,  23  ;     1  Pet.  ii.  4-6. 

K 


146  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

metaphor  the  Great  Builder  should  begin  with 
Simon  Peter,  who  was  the  foremost  of  the 
apostolic  band,  and  had  just  confessed  Jesus 
to  be  "  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 
Such  a  confessor  was  the  very  stone  of  witness 
needed  in  the  foundation.  With  him  were 
laid  his  co-witnesses,  the  other  apostles ;  and 
to  them  were  added  the  prophets,  as  also  bear- 
ing testimony  to  the  Lord.*  Let  it  be  re- 
membered that  the  Church  is  here  regarded 
mainly  as  the  institution  of  living  and  per- 
petual testimony  to  Jesus  Christ.  Its  stones 
are  all  stones  of  witness,  and  therefore  the 
foundation  consists  of  the  apostolic  and  pro- 
phetic witnesses.  We  speak  of  fundamental 
articles  of  faith,  but  first  come  fundamental 
men  of  faith,  and  on  them  and  their  testi- 
mony rest  the  successive  layers  of  living 
stones  in  the  Church,  i,e,,  successive  genera- 
tions of  men  confessing  with  their  mouths 
and  believing  in  their  hearts  that  God  raised 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead. 

Such  is  the  Church  which  has  the  promise 
of  perpetuity.     The  building  is  impregnable 

*  Eph.  ii.  20 ;  Acts  x.  42,  43  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  28. 


THE  CHURCH  ROCK.  147 

and  imperishable.  The  gates  or  powers  of 
Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  Christ,  the 
Builder  of  the  Church,  keeps  those  powers 
under  control,  for  He  has  "  the  keys  of  Hades 
and  of  death.""' 

Thus  viewing  the  two  ways  in  which  the 
metaphor  of  a  Church-building  is  cast,  we 
feel  no  difficulty  with  the  Lord's  language  to 
Simon  Peter.  It  wras  spoken  amidst  scenery 
which  strongly  suggested  the  illustration. 
The  country  round  Csesarea  Philippi  is  full 
of  rocky  cliffs,  from  which  were  cut  large 
foundation-stones  for  temples  devoted  pro- 
bably to  the  worship  of  Baal.  Some  of  these 
are  still  to  be  seen  lying  in  tiers — sino-le 
blocks  of  stone  being  upwards  of  twelve  feet 
thick  and  upwards  of  sixty  feet  long.t  Our 
Lord  very  probably  spoke  with  some  of  those 
temple  foundation-rocks  close  at  hand,  and, 
with    His    wonted  ease  of  illustration,    took 

*  Rev.  i.  18. 

t  Dr.  Thomson  mentions  one  block  in  those  parts  which 
had  never  been  moved  from  the  quarry.  "  It  is  fourteen  by 
seventeen,  and  sixty-nine  feet  long." — The  Land  and  the  Book, 
chap.  xvi. 


148  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

occasion  to  speak  of  the  petra  on  which  His 
Church  would  rest. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  keen  controversy 
which  has  been  waged  over  this  saying  of 
Christ.  This  is  the  inscription  which  glitters 
in  letters  of  vast  dimensions  over  the  interior 
of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  ;  and 
everywhere  this  is  cited  by  teachers  and 
disputers  of  the  Latin  Church  to  prove  the 
permanent  and  universal  primacy  of  St.  Peter 
and  his  alleged  successors  in  the  Roman  See. 
Yet  any  one  may  see  that  the  words  spoken 
at  Caesarea  Philippi  make  no  reference  to 
Rome,  and  that  to  use  them  in  support  of 
a  Papacy  needs  not  a  little  controversial 
audacity.  "Without  entering  on  the  subject 
at  length,  we  may  set  down  three  proposi- 
tions : — 

i.  The  position  of  Simon  Peter  in  the 
foundation  of  the  Church  was  not  an  exclusive 
one,  but  was  shared  by  the  other  apostles.-5' 
He  was  the  first  stone,  as  he  always  ranks 
first  in  the  lists  of  the  apostles,  but  his 
colleagues  and  co-witnesses  were  in  the  same 

*  Eph.  ii,  20 ;   Rev.  xxi.  14. 


THE  CHURCH  ROCK.  149 

tier  of  stones  of  witness,  and  made  it  com- 
plete. 

2.  His  honoured  position  in  the  founda- 
tion and  beginning  of  the  Church  implied 
nothing  of  primacy  or  popedom,  and  conveyed 
no  authority  to  govern  the  Church  in  all  time 
coming.  The  disciples  certainly  drew  no  such 
inference,  else  how  could  James  and  John 
after  this  have  aspired  to  the  highest  seats  ? 
Or,  when  their  desire  was  made  known  to  the 
Master,  how  could  He  have  failed  to  inform 
them  that  the  chief  place  was  already  assigned 
to  Simon  Peter  and  his  ecclesiastical  suc- 
cessors ?  How  could  He  have  spoken  of 
"  twelve  thrones "  for  the  twelve  apostles, 
if  all  were  to  be  subject  to  the  episcopal 
throne  of  Peter  ?  Or  how  could  Paul  set  it 
down  as  a  mark  of  sectarianism  at  Corinth 
for  any  to  say  that  they  were  "  of  Cephas  ? "  * 
If  the  Eoman  claim  is  good,  it  is  a  mark  of 
Catholicity  to  be  of  Cephas.  It  should  be 
added  that  from  the  Book  of  Acts  and  his 
two  Epistles  we  derive  a  considerable  amount 
of  authentic  information  reorardincr  the  work 

*  I  Cor.  i.   12. 


i5o  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  teaching  of  St.  Peter  in  the  early  Church, 
but  we  have  not  the  least  hint  that  he  exer- 
cised the  authority  of  a  Pope,  or  even  a 
Primate.  We  have  many  proofs  that  he 
did  not.# 

3.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  importance 
of  St.  Peter's  position,  there  is  no  mention  of 
his  successors,  least  of  all  of  successors  at 
Rome,  a  city  which  is  connected  with  St. 
Paul,  and  not  with  St.  Peter,  in  the  New 
Testament.  Even  though  he  had  been  the 
exclusive  foundation-rock  of  the  Church,  it 
would  by  no  means  follow  that  a  succession 
of  Roman  bishops  should  be  foundations. 
It  is  an  odd  idea  of  a  building  proceeding 
through  many  centuries,  that  its  base  should 
not  be  imbedded  in  the  historical  past  beneath, 
but  should  be  laid  all  the  way  up  to  the  roof; 
And  it  is  more  than  odd,  it  is  preposterous, 
to  turn  the  claim  of  a  continuous  foundation 
into  the  right  of  a  continuous  absolute  govern- 
ment. 

Yet  on  such  outrageous  assumptions  rests 

*  For  a  clear  and  compact  statement  of  this,  see  Dean 
Howson's  Horce  Petrince,  chap.  viii. 


THE  CHURCH  ROCK.  151 

the  loudly-asserted  right  of  the  Pope  of  Eome 
to  rule  the  whole  Church  from  the  chair  of 
Peter,  and  as  vicar  of  Christ  on  earth  !  Few 
things  are  so  discreditable  to  the  human  mind 
as  the  success  which  has  attended,  and  still 
attends,  this  egregious  imposture. 


(       152      ) 


XVI. 

THE    KEYS. 

"  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  : 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  : 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." 
— St.  Matt.  xvi.  19. 

While  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ou  rising  from 
the  dead,  would  retain  iu  His  own  hand  "the 
keys  of  Hades  and  death,"  He  would  give  to 
Simon  Peter  "  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven." 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  does  not  mean 
heaven.  Yet  the  failure  to  mark  this  obvious 
distinction  has  given  prevalence  to  the  foolish 
notion  that  St.  Peter  is  porter  at  heaven's 
gate,  and  admits  souls  to  Paradise.  Byron 
writes  it  in  sarcasm — 

"  Saint  Peter  sat  by  the  celestial  gate." 

But  it  has  been  the  serious  belief  of  super- 
stitious millions,  whose  anxiety  has  been  as 


THE  KEYS.  153 

to  whether  St.  Peter  would  admit  them  to  a 
seat  in  heaven. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  does  not  mean  the 
Church.  It  is  the  dispensation  of  grace  and 
truth  on  earth,  announced  by  John  the 
Baptist  and  inaugurated  by  Jesus  Christ. 
Under  this  dispensation  and  kingdom  the 
Church  is  being  gathered,  but  it  is  not  accu- 
rate to  transfer  to  the  latter  as  an  institu- 
tion what  is  predicated  of  the  former.  Atten- 
tion to  this  distinction  would  have  made 
short  work  with  the  Papal  claim  to  the  power 
of  the  keys,  and  would  have  saved  our  Pro- 
testant divines  a  great  deal  of  discussion  re- 
garding the  power  of  the  keys  in  the  Church, 
and  the  hands  in  which  that  power  is  vested. 

But  what  is  meant  by  the  keys  ?  A  very 
child  must  know  that  the  Lord  did  not  mean 
to  give  to  the  Apostle  an  actual  bunch  of 
keys.  The  phrase  is  metaphorical ;  and  the 
meaning  is  to  be  found  by  comparison  of 
this  with  other  Scriptures.  It  certainly 
indicates  power,  and,  as  it  appears  to  us, 
power  of  two  kinds: — (i.)  Administrative; 
and  (2.)  Didactic. 


154  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

I.  Administrative. 

The  keys  of  a  palace  are  intrusted  to  the 
major-domo.  The  key  of  the  house  of  David 
is  said  iu  Isaiah  to  be  laid  on  the  shoulders 
of  Eliakim,  a  trusty  counsellor.*  The  mention 
of  keys  suggests  stewardship,  not  lordship. 
So  a  power  of  administration  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  was  assigned  to  Simon  Peter,  as 
the  first  of  the  apostles.  It  is  from  this  that 
divines  have  described  the  right  to  exercise 
Church  discipline  as  "  the  powrer  of  the  keys," 
distinguishing  it  from  the  jurisdiction  of  civil 
rulers,  which  is  enforced  by  the  power  of  the 
sword,  f 

II.  Didactic. 

Jesus  reproached  the  lawyers  of  the  time 
for  having  "taken  away  the  key  of  know- 
ledge." |  They  hindered  the  enlightenment 
of  their  nation.  On  the  other  hand,  a  Scribe 
well  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
had  been  likened  by  Him  to  a  householder 

*  Isa.  xxii.  20-22. 

t  Westminster  Confession,  chap.  xxx.  2. 

X  St.  Luke  xi.  52. 


THE  KEYS.  155 

with  command  of  a  treasury.  We  infer  that 
the  Lord  promised  to  Simon  Peter  the  keys 
by  which  he  would  have  access  to  the  treasure 
of  wisdom  and  understanding  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  and  so  be  able  to  teach  with  clear- 
ness and  authority. 

This  interpretation  is  confirmed  by  the 
words  which  follow — "And  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven, 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall 
be  loosed  in  heaven."  *  Not  whomsoever,  but 
whatsoever.  The  saying  refers  to  points  of 
doctrine  or  practice  wThich  might  come  into 
dispute.  Among  the  Jewish  Rabbis,  to  bind 
meant  to  forbid  or  declare  forbidden  ;  to 
loose,  meant  to  allow  or  declare  allowed.  We 
understand,  therefore,  that  the  apostles  wrere 
authorised  to  teach  and  guide  their  fellow- 
Christians,  showing  what  things  were  for- 
bidden and  what  allowed,  indicating  what 
rites  and  ordinances  were  superseded,  and 
how  debatable  questions  should  be  settled 
in  the  new  communit}\     In  fact,  the  power 

*  This  prerogative  was  shared  by  all  the  apostles.  See  St. 
Matt,  xviii.  18. 


156  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

to  bind  and  loose  was  just  the  function  of 
directing  the  judgment  and  practice  of  the 
new-born  inexperienced  Church,  and  ordering 
its  beginnings  of  thought  and  life  according 
to  the  mind  of  Christ. 

But  while  he  shared  the  power  to  bind  and 
loose  with  all  his  colleagues,  there  is,  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  a  very  special  ascrip- 
tion of  the  power  of  the  keys  to  Simon  Peter. 
True,  as  the  "Te  Deum"  has  it,  that  when 
our  Lord  "had  overcome  the  sharpness  of 
death,"  He  "  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  all  believers ; "  but  the  actual  opening 
of  the  kingdom  was  effected  through  His 
steward.  The  door  of  faith  was  opened  first 
to  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem ;  #  next  to  the 
Samaritans,  a  kind  of  intermediate  people  ;  t 
and  finally  to  the  Gentiles.  J  So  was  the 
gospel  given  to  the  whole  world ;  and  in  each 
instance  it  was  the  hand  of  Simon  Peter  that 
held  and  turned  the  key. 

*  Acts  ii.  iii.  iv.  t  Acts  viii.  J  Acts  x. 


(     157     ) 


XVII. 


A  LITTLE  CHILD. 


"  In  that  hour  came  the  dis- 
ciples unto  Jesus,  saying,  Who 
then  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven?  And  He  called  to 
Him  a  little  child,  and  set  him 
in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said, 
Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Except 
ye  turn,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  "Whosoever  therefore 
shall  humble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  the  same  is  the 
greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  And  whoso  shall  re- 
ceive one  such  little  child  in  My 
name  receiveth  Me  :  but  whoso 
shall  cause  one  of  these  little 
ones  which  believe  on  Me  to 
stumble,  it  is  profitable  for  him 
that  a  great  millstone  should  be 
hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that 
he  should  be  sunk  in  the  depth 
of  the  sea.  .  .  .  See  that  ye 
despise  not  one  of  these  little 
ones  ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that 
in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  My  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.  How  think 
ye  ?  If  any  man  have  a  hundred 
sheep,  and  one  of  them  be  gone 


"And  He  sat  down,  and  called 
the  twelve  ;  and  He  saith  unto 
them,  If  any  man  would  be  first, 
he  shall  be  last  of  all,  and  minis- 
ter of  all.  And  He  took  a  little 
child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst 
of  them  :  and  taking  him  in  His 
arms,  He  said  unto  them,  Who- 
soever shall  receive  one  of  such 
little  children  in  my  name,  re- 
ceiveth Me  :  and  whosoever  re- 
ceiveth Me,  receiveth  not  Me,  but 
Him  that  sent  Me."— St.  Mark 
ix-  35-37- 


158  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

astray,  doth  he  not  leave  the 
ninety  and  nine,  and  go  unto  the 
mountains,  and  seek  that  which 
goeth  astray?  And  if  so  he  that 
he  find  it,  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
he  rejoiceth  over  it  more  than 
over  the  ninety  and  nine  which 
have  not  gone  astray.  Even  so 
it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven,  that  one  of 
these  little  ones  should  perish." 
— St.  Matt,  xviii.  1-6,  10-14. 

Jesus  Christ  loved  children,  and  often  re- 
ferred to  them  in  His  teaching.  On  the 
occasion  now  under  our  notice,  He  actually 
called  a  little  child  to  Him,  and  by  help  of 
the  child,  a  visible  and  not  a  merely  verbal 
metaphor,  inculcated  humility  and  conveyed 
consolation  to  the  humble. 

I.  Lessons  of  humility. 

1.  A  lesson  from  the  child  in  the  midst  of 
the  apostles. 

The  twelve  chosen'  men  were  but  men  at  the 
best.  They  had  the  same  craving  for  prefer- 
ment and  desire  to  occupy  chief  seats  that  lurks 
in  almost  every  breast.  It  was  not  enough 
that  they  should  be  princes  or  counsellors  in 
their  Master's  kingdom.  The  question  which 
of  them  should  be  the  greatest  fretted  their 


A   LITTLE  CHILD.  i$9 

spirits,  and  led  to  an  unseemly  dispute. 
The  recent  glory  of  the  Transfiguration  excited 
them  as  an  apparent  beginning  of  their 
Messiah's  kingdom.  Were  the  three  whom 
He  had  taken  with  Him  to  "the  Holy 
Mount"  to  be  promoted  permanently  above 
their  colleagues  %  They  knew  that  the  pro- 
phets on  the  mountain  had  spoken  of  "  the 
decease  to  be  accomplished  at  Jerusalem ; " 
they  had  heard  solemn  words  on  the  same 
prospective  event  from  their  Master's  lips ; 
but  they  put  away  the  unwelcome  topic, 
and  would  speak  only  of  the  kingdom  and 
the  chief  places  about  the  King. 

This  was  on  the  journey  from  Mount  Hermon 
to  Capernaum  ;  and  when  the  little  band  had 
entered  the  tow^n,  the  apostles  submitted  their 
question  to  the  Lord.  St.  Mark  says  that  He 
drew  it  from  them  by  inquiring  after  the 
subject  discussed  by  them  on  the  way. 

His  treatment  of  the  matter  was  marked, 
both  in  matter  and  manner,  by  His  unfailing 
originality.  He  called  to  Him  a  little  child — 
no  doubt  a  child  of  the  house  in  which  He 
rested — and,   without   fear  or  hesitation,  the 


160    r         METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

little  one  came  to  Him.  It  is  a  pleasant 
incidental  proof  that  there  was  no  austerity  in 
the  aspect  or  bearing  of  Jesus,  such  as  would 
make  children  shrink  from  or  avoid  Him. 
Little  ones  have  a  quick  and  true  perception 
of  those  who  love  them ;  and  the  child  at 
Capernaum  knew  at  once  that  the  voice  which 
called  him  was  that  of  a  friend. 

Then  the  Lord  placed  him  in  the  midst  of 
the  disciples,  and  bade  those  grown  men  look 
on  that  babe  and  try  to  be  like  him.  Only 
by  childlikeness  could  they  excel.  Indeed, 
no  otherwise  could  they  so  much  as  enter 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

At  Jerusalem  our  Lord  had  taught  Nico- 
demus  the  Pharisee  that  he  must  be  born 
again  in  order  to  see  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Now  at  Capernaum  He  taught  the  twelve 
that,  though  they  were  called  to  be  His 
disciples,  they  were  disqualifying  themselves 
for  His  kingdom  by  their  temper  of  jealous 
rivalry.  "Except  ye  turn,"  i.e.,  from  the  ques- 
tion which  of  you  shall  be  greater  than  the 
rest,  and  'from  the  spirit  which  dictates  such 
questions,   "and   become  as    little   children,"- 


A  LITTLE  CHILD.     '  161 

ye  can  have  no  place  at  all  in  the  heavenly 
kingdom.  The  only  way  to  enter  is  to  come, 
as  the  child  came,  at  the  call  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  take,  as  the  child  took,  without  a 
word,  whatever  place  Jesus  Christ  may  assign, 
whether  in  the  centre,  or  on  the  far  circum- 
ference of  the  circle  of  disciples,  whether  on 
the  right  or  left  hand  of  the  King,  or  in  the 
lowest  rank  of  His  servants. 

Nor  is  this  principle  confined  to  the  en- 
trance. It  is  essential  to  all  true  Christian 
advancement.  After  one  has  entered  the 
kingdom,  it  is  expected  of  him  that  he  shall 
continue  childlike,  tractable,  unpretentious, 
and  give  no  rein  to  that  temper  of  self- 
aggrandisement  which  wants  to  push  to  the 
front  and  take  the  foremost  place.  "Who- 
soever therefore  shall  humble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  the  same  is  the  greatest  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 

So  the  Saviour  taught,  and  so  He  lived. 
He  was  the  pattern  of  that  humility  which 
He  inculcated.  He  exhibited  no  anxiety  for 
station  or  fame  among  men,  but  simply  devoted 
Himself  to  the  work  which  the  Father  had 

L 


162  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

given  to  Him  to  do.  Where  the  Father  would 
place  Him,  there  would  He  be.  What  the 
Father  would  teach  Him,  that  would  He 
say.  Nothing  was  more  repugnant  to  Him 
than  the  self-seeking  temper  which  marked 
the  Pharisees.  He  would  have  His  disciples 
breathe  quite  another  spirit.  They  should 
be  willing  to  stand  where  He  would  place 
them,  to  go  whither  He  might  send  them, 
to  do  what  He  might  bid,  to  teach  what 
He  would  command,  happy  as  little  children 
in  trustfulness  and  docility. 

2.  A  lesson  from  the  child  in  His  arms. 

From  St.  Mark  we  learn  that  at  this  point 
of  the  conversation  the  Lord  took  up  the  little 
one  in  His  arms,  and  so  proceeded  to  teach 
His  second  lesson  of  humility,  viz.,  the  duty 
and  privilege  of  receiving  the  lowly.  "  Who- 
soever shall  receive  one  of  such  little  children 
in  My  name,  receive th  Me  ;  and  whosoever 
receiveth  Me,  receiveth  not  Me,  but  Him  that 
sent  Me." 

The  disciples,  in  disputing  over  their  future 
rank,  had 'been  forgetting  the  mind  and  pur- 
pose of  Christ,  who  had  come  to  abase  the 


A  LITTLE  CHILD.  163 

proud  and  exalt  the  lowly.  So  He  recalled 
them  to  the  obligation  and  the  blessedness  of 
kindness  to  the  weak,  and  a  considerate  re- 
ception of  those  whom  an  ambitious  temper 
might  push  aside  or  treat  with  neglect.  Such 
conduct  to  others,  if  actuated  by  a  regard  for 
His  name,  would  be  reckoned  by  Him  as  the 
most  pleasing  service  they  could  render.  If 
they  would  give  themselves  to  the  work  of 
lowly  love,  receive  and  instruct  little  children  or 
persons  who  were  simple  as  babes  in  comparison 
with  "the  wise  and  prudent"  of  the  time;  if 
they  would  help  the  poor,  teach  the  ignorant, 
mind  not  high  things,  but  condescend  to 
men  of  low  estate,  they  would  be  rewarded 
in  as  well  as  for  their  service,  for  they 
would  more  fully  receive  Christ,  and  the 
Father  in  Christ,  into  their  own  hearts, 
and  make  an  advance  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  which  could  never  be  attained  through 
the  indulgence  of  a  proud  and  self-exalting 
spirit. 

What  a  stretch  from  the  little  child  in 
Capernaum  to  the  Father  in  heaven  !  But  so 
it  is  :  lowliness  of  spirit,  with  kind  and  patient 


164  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

love,  is  nearest  to  the  Divine  heart,  and  fraught 
with  the  loftiest  blessing. 

And  what  a  lesson  iu  theology  !  Not  through 
arduous  speculations,  or  by  the  help  of  tech- 
nical statements  regarding  God  handed  down 
from  former  times,  do  we  reach  and  know  Him, 
but  by  that  harmony  with  Him  which  shows 
itself  in  receiving  little  ones,  helping  the  weak, 
and  manifesting  to  all  the  gentleness  of  Christ. 
Let  us  study  in  the  house  at  Capernaum,  for 
it  is  a  great  school  of  divinity.  Let  us  look 
at  Jesus  there  with  the  child  in  His  arms,  and 
learn  how  God  thinks  and  feels — what  God  is. 
In  Him  are  holiness,  justice,  and  truth,  but 
also  sweetness,  gentleness,  love.  He  resists 
the  proud,  and  gives  grace  to  the  lowly. 

The  Church  visible  has  erred  in  seeking 
great  things  for  herself,  and  coping  with  king- 
doms of  the  world  in  titles,  revenues,  and 
dignities,  while  children  have  been  neglected, 
mourners  not  comforted,  and  the  poor  have 
not  had  the  gospel  preached  to  them.  Only 
when  the  Church  is  loving,  patient,  self-for- 
getful, ♦  absorbed  in  her  Master's  service  and 
glory,  can  she  be  said  to  be  the  true  exponent 


A  LITTLE  CHILD.  165 

of  the  Father's  will,  and  to  approve  herself  as 
under  the  guidance  of  His  Holy  Spirit. 

II.  Lessons  of  consolation. 

The  Lord  Jesus,  receiving  and  caring  for 
children  and  childlike  disciples,  is  much  dis- 
pleased alike  with  any  who  endanger  their 
consistency  by  putting  a  stumbling-block  in 
their  way  to  cause  them  to  fall,  and  with  any 
who  despise  those  little  ones  as  of  small  ac- 
count, forgetting  that  they  are  precious  in  His 
sight. 

In  the  Saviour's  words,  as  reported  by  St. 
Matthew,  there  appear  three  guarantees  for 
the  safety  of  His  "  little  ones  :  " — 

1.  The  care  of  guardian  angels  (ver.  10). 
Men  may  deal  hardly  with  the  childlike  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus,  but  angels  minister  to  them 
and  encamp  round  about  them  ;  and  those  are 
£ood  ano-els  who  "  behold  the  Father's  face," 
i.e.,  are  in  the  Divine  favour. 

It  does  not  follow  from  this  that  each  indi- 
vidual has  one  guardian  angel  assigned  to  him 
as  a  good  genius  to  watch  over  him  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave.     Of  this  Scripture  reveals 


1 66  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

nothing.  Enough  that  to  the  good  angels  as 
heavenly  servants  is  committed  the  care  of  the 
heirs  of  salvation. 

There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels 
over  every  one  who  is  brought  in  a  childlike 
spirit  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Is  this  joy 
to  be  turned  to  weeping  through  the  loss  of 
such  little  ones  after  they  have  been  found  ? 
And  is  the  care  of  the  angels  to  be  defeated  ? 
Are  those  bright  and  loving  spirits  to  watch 
in  vain,  and  to  be  thwarted  and  disappointed 
after  all  ?  It  cannot  be.  Therefore  the  little 
ones  shall  not  perish. 

2.  The  love  of  the  Good  Shepherd.*  The 
Son  of  Man,  the  Lord  of  angels,  has  saved 
those  little  ones,  and  He  will  not  suffer  them 
to  perish.  There  is  no  weakness  in  His  pur- 
pose, no  negligence  in  His  oversight,  no  change 
in  His  love.  He  has  given  to  them  eternal 
life,  and  no  one  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of 
His  hand. 

In  regard  to  those  who  are  actually  children, 

*  The  authenticity  of  Matt,  xviii.  1 1  is  uncertain,  and  the 
verse  is  omitted  in  the  Revised  Version  ;  but  the  thought 
remains  in  the  short  parable  of  verses  12,  13. 


A   LITTLE  CHILD.  167 

a  fine  passage  occurs  in  the  second  part  of  the 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress."  "  By  the  river-side  in 
the  meadow  there  are  cotes  and  folds  for 
sheep,  and  a  house  built  for  the  nourishing  and 
bringing  up  of  those  lambs,  the  babes  of  those 
women  that  go  on  pilgrimage.  Also  there 
was  here  One  that  was  intrusted  with  them, 
who  could  have  compassion,  and  could  gather 
the  lambs  with  His  arm,  and  carry  them  in  His 
bosom.  Now  to  the  care  of  this  Man  Chris- 
tiana admonished  her  four  daughters  to  com- 
mit their  little  ones,  that  by  those  waters  they 
might  be  housed,  harboured,  succoured,  and 
nourished,  and  that  none  of  them  might  be 
lacking  in  time  to  come.  This  Man,  if  any  of 
them  go  astray,  will  bring  them  back  again. 
He  will  also  build  up  that  which  was  broken, 
and  will  strengthen  them  that  were  sick.  This 
Man  will  die  before  one  of  those  committed  to 
His  trust  shall  be  lost.  So  they  wTere  content 
to  commit  their  little  ones  to  Him."  In  a 
word,  all  young  children  who  are  committed 
to  the  Lord  in  faith,  and  all  childlike  Chris- 
tians, are  "safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus." 
3.  The  will  of  the  Father  in  heaven  (ver. 


1 68  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

14).  It  is  the  Father's  will  which  the  Son 
interprets  and  fulfils  in  saving  the  lost.  It 
is  the  same  supreme  will  which  secures  by 
the  providence  of  the  Son,  the  guidance  of  the 
Spirit,  and  the  ministry  of  good  angels,  that 
none  of  the  rescued  ones  shall  perish.  It  is 
the  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  them  the 
kingdom.  A  stronger  assurance,  a  more  sub- 
lime guarantee,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive. 

"  Not  one  of  these  little  ones."  Not  one  ! 
The  Shepherd  knows  every  sheep  and  lamb. 
The  Father  knows  every  child,  and  thinks  of 
every  one.  He  has  a  smile  for  this  child  and 
correction  for  that ;  a  promise  for  this  one, 
and  a  warning  for  that,  as  each  may  require  ; 
but  for  every  one  He  has  love.  It  is  His  will 
that  of  all  the  children  who  have  trusted  in 
Him,  His  Son  Jesus  shall  lose  none,  but  raise 
up  every  one  at  the  last  day. 


(     1 69    ) 


XVIII. 

THE  EYE  OF  A  NEEDLE. 

"And  Jesus  said  unto  His  disciples,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  i3 
hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  again 
I  say  unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's  eye, 
than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  when 
the  disciples  heard  it,  they  were  astonished  exceedingly,  saying,  Who 
then  can  be  saved?  And  Jesus  looking  upon  them  said  to  them, 
"With  men  this  is  impossible ;  but  with  God  all  things  are  possible." 
—St.  Matt.  xix.  23-26. 

How  naturally  flowed  the  conversational 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ!  Nothing  was 
dragged  in  or  forced.  There  was  no  formal 
and  premeditated  treatment  of  topics.  The 
Master  was  content  to  take  His  theme  from 
current  incidents,  employing  upon  them  His 
unrivalled  facility  of  extemporaneous  illustra- 
tion and  suggestion. 

Pharisees  came  to  Him  with  a  question 
about  divorce,  and  He  took  occasion  not  only 
to  lay  down  first  principles  on  the  sanctity  of 
marriage,  but  to  teach  His  disciples  that  it 


I/O  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

might  be  expedient  for  some  of  His  servants 
to  refrain  from  marriage,  not  for  the  base 
reason  suggested  by  them,  that  marriage  with- 
out facility  for  divorce  would  be  an  intolerable 
yoke,  but  for  a  much  worthier  cause,  viz., 
that  they  might  be  more  useful  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven. 

Then  a  rich  young  man  accosted  Him, 
strongly  proclaiming  his  desire  to  keep  any 
and  every  condition  in  order  to  perfection. 
The  Master  applied  to  him  a  hard  test  which 
he  could  not  bear,  and  as  the  young  man 
turned  away  with  dow^ncast  countenance,  this 
significant  comment  fell  from  the  lips  of 
Jesus,  "  It  is  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

This  saying,  like  the  former  one  about 
"  eunuchs  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake," 
has  been  quoted  to  justify  and  exalt  ascetic 
forms  of  Christian  virtue.  The  states  of 
celibacy  or  virginity  and  of  voluntary  poverty 
have  been  pronounced  holy,  and  bound  on 
men  andy  women  under  vows  of  perpetual 
obligation.  There  is  no  ground  for  this  in  the 
sayings  of  our  Lord.     It  even  conflicts  with 


THE  EYE  OF  A  NEEDLE.  171 

common  sense ;  for  how  can  it  be  supposed 
that  a  religion  which  can  find  perfection  only 
by  methods  which  go  to  the  destruction  of 
society  and  of  property  has  issued  from  an 
all-wise  God  ?  Voluntary  celibacy  and  volun- 
tary poverty  may  be  the  high  duty  of  some 
men  and  women  for  special  service  to  their 
Lord,  but  such  sacrifices  of  natural  rights  are 
of  an  exceptional  character,  and  should  never 
be  dictated  as  vows  or  regulations. 

We  can  admire  the  self-denial  of  St.  Paul, 
who,  though  he  was  under  no  vow  of  celibacy, 
and  had  the  same  right  as  St.  Peter  and  other 
apostles  to  the  married  state,  determined  not 
to  marry  in  order  that  he  might  be  unhindered 
in  his  missionary  journeys.  We  can  admire 
the  same  resolution  in  modern  missionaries 
who  have  followed  his  example  ;  although  for 
missionary  work  generally  marriage  is,  on 
the  whole,  an  advantage.  But  it  is  a  very 
different  thing  to  set  forth  celibacy  as  a 
"  counsel  of  perfection,"  and  enforce  it  on  all 
who  are  recognised  as  official  servants  and 
handmaids  of  Christ  in  His  Church.  To  do 
so  is  to  misconstrue  the  teaching  of  our  Lord, 


i72  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  to  misconceive  the  best  conditions  of  the 
Christian  life. 

In  like  manner  we  admire  the  self-denial 
of  Joseph,  surnamed  Barnabas,  who  sold  his 
land,  and  devoted  the  money  to  the  common 
purse  of  the  persecuted  Church  at  Jerusalem ; 
and  we  rejoice  to  know  that  in  such  surrender 
of  earthly  goods  for  charity  or  for  missionary 
service  he  has  had  a  good  many  followers  in 
ancient  and  modern  times.  But  it  would  be 
wrong,  and  even  absurd,  to  bid  every  Christian 
who  would  please  the  Lord  strip  himself  of 
all  worldly  property. 

It  was  from  the  story  of  the  rich  young 
man  in  the  Gospel  that  the  famous  Anthony, 
the  very  patriarch  of  Monachism,  inferred 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  abandon  his  ancestral 
estate  and  live  in  solitude  and  poverty.  There 
is  no. question  of  the  ardour  and  sincerity  of 
the  man ;  but  as  we  read  what  history  has 
to  tell  of  the  moral  and  social  effects  of 
Monachism,  we  cannot  but  reflect  how  much 
better  it  would  have  been  for  all  Christendom 
if  Anthony  had  lived  on  the  estate  which  he 
inherited,  and  used  his  means  and  position  for 


THE  EYE  OF  A  NEEDLE.  173 

the  honour  of  Christ  and  the  gospel  among  the 
ignorant  peasantry  around,  rather  than  have 
passed  his  life  in  the  desert,  injuring  his  own 
body  by  gratuitous  hardships,  maintaining 
mysterious  combats  with  fiends,  and  so  leading 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  misguided  men 
into  a  similar  pursuit  of  an  illusive  ascetic 
perfection. 

Protestant  Christianity  has  not  been  with- 
out noble  instances  of  the  renunciation  of 
riches  for  Christ  and  the  gospel.  But  even 
were  the  generous  impulse  more  frequent  than 
it  is,  it  could  seldom  be  carried  into  effect 
with  a  clear  judgment  and  conscience,  for  a 
man  of  hereditary  property  is  not  free  to  give 
away  what  ought  to  pass  to  his  descendants, 
and  a  man  who  has  made  his  own  fortune 
must  recognise  the  reasonable  claims  or  ex- 
pectations of  his  family.  Accordingly,  the 
normal  condition  of  things  must  be  that  the 
Church  expects  her  people  to  give  habitually 
a  proportion  of  their  income.  Yet  this,  which 
should  be  easy  for  a  rich  man,  is  found  to  be 
difficult.  As  a  rule,  persons  who  have  small 
or  moderate  incomes  give  away  more  in  pro- 


174  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

portion  than  those  do  who  enjoy  affluence. 
Let  our  Lord's  warning  be  remembered.  It 
is  hard  for  those  who  have  riches  to  keep 
their  hearts  above  them,  and  maintain  in  pros- 
perity an  entire  devotedness  to  Christ  and 
the  gospel. 

By  such  teaching  the  Saviour  was  secretly 
preparing  His  apostles  for  the  days  of  trial 
which  would  come  on  them  and  on  their 
brethren  after  His  ascension,  that  they  might 
be  willing  to  have  that  common  purse  at  Jeru- 
salem, to  which  we  have  already  adverted, 
and  which  put  too  great  a  strain  on  such  half- 
hearted Christians  as  Ananias  and  Sapphira, 
and  that  afterwards  they  might  "  take  joy- 
fully the  spoiling  of  their  goods"  rather  than 
deny  their  Master's  name.  Already  they  had 
left  all  to  follow  Him.  In  that  mind  they 
must  continue  to  the  end,  holding  whatever 
might  come  into  their  possession  in  trust  for 
higher  ends  than  personal  gratification — for 
the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  the  promo- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Our  Lord  gave  point  to  His  teaching  on 
this  subject  by  an  illustration — perhaps  one 


THE  EYE  OF  A  NEEDLE.  175 

in  proverbial  and  popular  use.  He  likened  a 
rich  man  carrying  great  possessions,  and  try- 
ing with  them  to  enter  the  heavenly  kingdom, 
to  a  laden  camel  attempting  to  thread  the  eye 
of  a  needle.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
needle's  eye  was  an  expression  in  common  use 
for  a  narrow  gate  into  a  city  intended  for 
foot-passengers  only,  and  through  which,  if  a 
camel  could  squeeze  at  all,  it  would  first  need 
to  be  unladen  and  entirely  stripped  of  trap- 
pings and  encumbrances.  Very  possibly  this 
explanation  may  be  right,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  scrutinise  closely  what  is  so  obviously 
the  language  of  hyperbole.  The  object  is  to 
stamp  on  the  mind  and  memory  the  idea  of 
extreme  difficulty,  and  it  has  been  shown  by 
a  great  scholar*  that  a  Talmudist  used  for 
the  same  purpose  a  phrase  still  more  hyper- 
bolical— "  an  elephant  going  through  the  eye 
of  a  needle." 

Any  one  who  has  seen  laden  camels  in  the 
East  Will  appreciate  the  illustration.  It  is 
quite  impossible  to  pass  them  through  a  tight 

*  Dr.  John  Lightfoot's  Harmony  of  the  Four  Evangelists, 
in  loc. 


176  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

place.  If  one  comes  to  a  passage  too  narrow 
or  a  gate  too  low,  he  simply  stands  and  utters 
a  cry.  He  must  be  unladen,  and  will  forth- 
with lie  down  for  the  purpose.  But  he  is  a 
cumbrous  creature  at  the  best,  and  needs 
more  room  than  any  other  quadruped  that  is 
known  in  Palestine. 

The  difficulty  of  the  admission  of  rich  men 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  emphasised  by 
such  a  metaphor  as  this,  greatly  astonished 
the  apostles.  "  They  were  exceedingly  amazed, 
saying,  'Who  then  can  be  saved'  ?"  The  reason 
of  this  is  that  their  thoughts  still  ran  on  a 
kingdom  to  be  speedily  restored  to  Israel,  in 
which  they  should  themselves  hold  high  places 
and  become  both  rich  and  powerful.  Surely 
the  adherence  of  men  with  great  possessions 
should  be  welcomed,  not  discouraged.  True 
that  they  were  not  greedy  men,  though  one 
of  them  had  "  an  itching  palm."  They  fol- 
lowed Jesus  for  something  better  than  wealth  ; 
but  if  rich  men  were  to  be  kept  out  of  the 
kingdom,  or  admitted  only  on  condition  of 
reducing'  themselves  to  poverty,  how  could 
the  cause  of  their  Master  prosper  ?  how  could 


THE  EYE  OF  A  NEEDLE.  177 

the  kingdom  come  ?  Nay,  with  such  restric- 
tions, who  could  be  saved  ?  Those  Galileans 
spoke  with,  a  perfectly  ingenuous  estimate  of 
the  importance  of  wealth — an  estimate  which, 
though  it  may  not  be  so  plainly  avowed,  pre- 
vails at  this  day  all  over  the  East.  Every- 
thing is  open  to  a  rich  man.  Every  religious 
privilege  is  conferred  on  him  ;  every  political 
advantage  is  secured  by  him.  A.  poor  man 
may  be  saved,  but  a  rich  man  must. 

Our  Lord's  way  of  thinking  ou  this,  as 
on  all  points,  was  original  and  unique.  He 
neither  sided  with  opulent  and  prosperous 
men,  nor  avoided  them.  He  neither  deterred 
to  the  rich  to  please  them,  nor  inveighed 
against  them  to  please  the  populace.  His 
care  was  to  show  that  a  man's  life  consists 
not  in  an  abundance  of  earthly  possessions, 
and  to  give  warning  that  the  hold  which  such 
possessions  take  of  the  human  heart  vastly 
increases  the  difficulty  of  Christian  disciple- 
ship.  It  may  well  be  asked,  Whence  had  this 
Man  such  calm  wisdom  above  all  the  men 
of  His  time  ?     How  did  He,  who  had  grown 

up  in  a  carpenter's  house,  and  had  no  house 

M 


178  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

of  His  own  wherein  to  lay  His  head,  come  to 
possess  this  sublime  superiority  alike  to  the 
passion  of  covetousness  and  to  the  discon- 
tent of  poverty  ?  He  was  a  prophet,  and 
more  than  a  prophet.  He  was  the  Son  of 
God. 

At  the  bewildered  question  of  the  apostles, 
Jesus  looked  on  them  with  a  significant  ex- 
pression, and  uttered  this  memorable  sentence 
— "  With  men  this  is  impossible,  but  with  God 
all  things  are  possible." 

This  may  be  understood  of  salvation — the 
salvation  of  ricli  and  poor  alike.  So  far  as 
human  merits  and  efforts  reach,  salvation 
is  not  merely  difficult,  but  impossible.  No 
living  man  is  able  by  any  labours  or  endur- 
ances in  his  own  strength,  or  within  his  own 
resources,  to  save  himself  from  his  sins  or 
place  himself  within  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
The  thing  is  impossible.  But  it  is  possible 
with  God ;  it  is  work  in  which  He  delights, 
to  save  men  by  Christ  Jesus.  He  reconciles 
His  enemies.  He  recovers  the  lost.  He 
pardons  the  guilty.  He  cleanses  those  whom 
sin  has  basely  soiled.     He  creates  them  anew 


THE  EYE  OF  A  NEEDLE.  179 

in  Christ  Jesus.      Salvation  is   a  marvellous 
thing,  but  it  is  possible  with  God. 

This,  however,  is  not  our  conception  of  the 
Lord's  meaning.  We  regard  Him  as  having 
still  in  view  the  special  difficulty  of  the  sal- 
vation of  the  rich.  The  influence  of  great 
possessions  on  the  heart  had  been  shown  in 
the  recoil  of  the  young  man  who  had  been 
sharply  tested  by  the  word  of  Jesus.  His 
riches  were  more  to  him  than  all  those  aspi- 
rations after  perfection  which  he  had  so 
ardently  expressed.  He  wished  to  be  good, 
nay,  to  be  perfect  ;  but  when  the  Master 
bade  him  part  with  his  possessions  and  give 
all  to  the  poor,  He  touched  as  with  the  point 
of  a  spear  the  weak  point,  or  revealed  as 
with  a  flash  of  light  the  secrets  of  the  young 
man's  heart.  The  inquirer  thought  that  he 
loved  God  and  his  neighbour,  but  he  did  not 
do  so  with  all  his  strength  and  mind.  He 
loved  riches  more.  So  the  meaning  is  this — 
with  men  it  is  impossible  to  leave  all  that 
one  has  in  order  to  follow  Jesus  aud  have 
treasure  in  heaven.  From  natural  generosity 
one  may  give  away  a  great  deal  of  money  to 


180  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

charitable  uses ;  and  yet  he  clings  to  his 
possessions,  and  is  careful  not  to  impair  them. 
Man  trusts  in  riches  if  he  has  them ;  he 
craves  them  if  he  has  them  not.  But  with 
God  even  this  is  possible.  His  grace  can 
make  the  poor  contented  and  the  rich  self- 
denied.  He  knows  how  to  teach  and  enable 
a  Christian  man  to  increase  riches  without 
craft  or  greed,  to  use  riches  as  a  steward 
for  a  Heavenly  Master,  or  even  to  renounce 
riches  if  such  sacrifice  be  necessary  to  a 
thorough  obedience.  He  can  keep  one  from 
trusting  in  uncertain  riches,  and  lead  him  so 
to  trust  in  the  living  God  as  to  make  the 
best  of  both  worlds,  following  the  Lord  Jesus 
here  with  a  free  and  honest  heart,  and  here- 
after receiving  recompense  a  hundredfold,  with 
ample  time  to  enjoy  it;  for  he  is  an  heir  of 
eternal  life. 


(     iSi     ) 


XIX. 

THE  GNAT  AND  THE  CAMEL. 

""Woe  unto  you,  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  tithe 
mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  left  undone  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  and  mercy,  and  faith :  but  these  ye 
ought  to  have  done,  and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone.  Ye 
blind  guides,  which  strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swallow  the  camel."— 
St.  Matt,  xxiii.  23,  24. 

x\  most  effective  illustration  this  of  a  scrupu- 
lousness which  is  extreme  and  inconsistent — 
"Ye  strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swallow  the 
camel."  *  We  are  supposed  to  look  at  one 
drinking  water  or  wine  from  an  open  vessel. 
A  gnat  or  small  fly  has  got  into  the  liquor — 
a  thing  that  will  occur  in  hot  weather  among 
ourselves,  and  that  is   sure  to   occur  in  the 

*  The  appearance  of  "  at  "  instead  of  "  out "  in  the  autho- 
rised version  is  due  to  a  mere  error  of  the  press.  The  pre- 
vious versions  of  Tyndale,  Coverdale,  and  Cranmer  have  the 
correct  rendering  — "  Strain  out  !"  It  is,  at  all  events,  a 
proof  of  the  conservatism  with  which  the  text  of  the  autho- 
rised version  has  been  preserved,  that  even  an  obvious  typo- 
graphical error  like  this  has  never  been  amended. 


1 82  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

East  if  a  vessel  containing  any  sweet  liquor 
is  left  uncovered.  He  who  would  drink 
notices  the  small  insect,  and  passes  the  sweet- 
ened water  or  wine  through  a  fine  cloth  in 
order  to  strain  it  out.  With  gross  inconsis- 
tency, however,  he  takes  no  notice  of  a  far 
larger  object,  but  gulps  down  the  camel.  The 
mention  of  this  unwieldy  creature  is  of  course 
an  instance  of  hyperbole,  as  in  the  other  meta- 
phor, already  considered,  of  a  camel  going 
through  the  eye  of  a  needle.    . 

The  Lord  implied  no  censure  on  the  pains 
taken  to  strain  out  the  gnat.  No  person  of 
nice  habits  could  act  otherwise.  Indeed,  a 
Jew  had  a  special  reason  for  being  scrupulous 
in  such  a  matter,  for  insects,  as  "  flying 
swarming  things"  were  unclean  under  his 
law.  But  then  the  camel  was  unclean  also. 
The  point  of  the  reproof  lay  in  the  incon- 
gruity or  inconsistency  evinced  by  one  who 
was  extremely  scrupulous  in  a  small  thing, 
and  extremely  unscrupulous  in  a  great  matter. 
Such  was  the  charge  wThich  Christ  brought 
against  the  Pharisees  :  and  it  must  be  brought 
still  against  those  who  combine  a  very  punc- 


THE  GNAT  AND  THE  CAMEL.  183 

tilious  Christian  profession  with  a  lax  or  un- 
principled morality. 

The  language  of  Jesus  Christ  rose  to  the 
severity  of  invective  against  that  pretentious 
sect  which  so  constantly  and  so  bitterly  op- 
posed His  influence.  No  consideration  for 
His  own  safety,  or  for  the  high  esteem  in 
which  the  Pharisees  were  popularly  held, 
could  induce  Him  to  conceal  or  disguise  His 
intense  repugnance  to  those  proud  and  sel- 
fish ceremonialists,  whose  consciences  were  so 
ostentatiously  strict  on  small  points  and  so 
shamefully  lax  on  great  matters. 

It  appears  that  the  Pharisees  were  very 
punctilious  about  paying  tithes  of  seeds 
which  were  grown  in  small  quantities,  and 
were  of  comparatively  little  value.  Mint 
was  grown  for  its  pleasant  odour ;  anise  or 
dill  and  cummin  for  their  aromatic  flavour. 
These  were  cultivated,  not  for  food,  but  for 
scents  and  relishes ;  and  only  a  small  quan- 
tity of  each  would  be  grown  in  a  private 
garden  for  the  use  of  a  household.  But  the 
Pharisees  all  the  more  made  a  point  of  dedi- 
cating a   tithe    of  these  trifles,  in   order   to 


i8'4  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

sustain  their  high  religious  credit.  A  parallel 
case  now  would  be  for  a  Christian  in  good 
circumstances  to  present  to  the  Church  one- 
tenth  of  the  value  of  the  parsley,  pepper,  and 
mustard  used  in  his  household. 

Now  the  Pharisees  were  observing  the  letter 
of  the  law,  which  said,  "  All  the  tithes  of  the 
land,  whether  of  the  seed  of  the  Land  or  of 
the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's ;  it  is  holy 
unto  the  Lord."  #  And  the  Master  recognised 
this  when  He  said  that  these  minute  tithings 
should  not  be  left  undone.  But  the  chief 
matters  of  obligation  should  be  placed  first 
All  very  well  to  be  obedient  in  the  smallest 
details,  but  not  at  all  well  to  put  forward  a 
pedantic  attention  to  comparative  trifles  as  an 
excuse  or  screen  for  neglecting  serious  duties. 
And  such  was  the  sin  of  the  Pharisees.  They 
did  not  disown,  but  in  practice  they  omitted 
those  "  weightier  matters  of  the  law,"  which 
involved  a  far  better  test  of  devotion  to  the 
Lord  than  any  amount  of  cheap  punctilio. 

The  weightier  matters  of  obligation  were, 
and  continue  to  be,  these  three: — (i.)  Judg- 

*  Leviticus  xxvii.  30. 


THE  GNAT  AND  THE  CAMEL.  185 

ment,  including  equity  in  judging  and  recti- 
tude in  performing  the  duties  of  life.  (2.) 
Mercy  in  unison  with  justice,  as  it  is  in  God 
Himself.  The  Pharisees  gave  alms  with  a 
blowing  of  trumpets,  but  they  did  not  love 
mercy.  (3.)  Faith  or  faithfulness,  shown  in 
honest  dealing  and  in  adherence  to  truth. 
The  Pharisees  knew  that  these  were  weighty 
matters  of  obligation,  but  found  them  irk- 
some, and  therefore  omitted  them,  vainly 
thinking  to  compensate  for  the  omission  by 
extreme  attention  to  the  minutiae  of  external 
obedience. 

Our  Lord's  treatment  of  this  grave  error 
suggests  two  points  for  emphatic  consideration 
in  Christian  doctrine  and  morals  : — 

I.  Inward  qualities  count  for  more  than 
outward  observances. 

The  tendency  to  forget  or  reverse  this  prin- 
ciple has  been  very  strong  both  in  the  House  of 
Israel  and  in  the  Church  of  God.  In  the  for- 
mer, men  would  render  sacrifice,  but  would  not 
obey  ;  would  offer  "  the  fat  of  rams  "  on  the 
altar,  but  would  not  hearken  to  do  the  voice 


186  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

of  Jehovah.  Therefore  were  so  many  prophets 
sent  to  reform  and  correct  the  hollow  ceremoni- 
alism of  Israel.  Samuel  treated  it  with  an 
almost  scornful  severity.  Isaiah,  recognised 
that  there  was  no  stint  in  the  supply  of 
bullocks,  lambs,  and  he-goats  for  the  altar  ; 
much  incense  was  used  in  the  Temple;  and 
the  Sabbath  and  uew-moon  festivals  were  hon- 
oured with  great  show  of  piety ;  yet  the  Lord 
held  the  oblations  to  be  vain,  and  the  solemn 
assemblies  a  weariness,  because  the  moral  life 
was  not  bettered ;  the  rulers  and  the  people 
did  not  cease  to  do  evil  or  learn  to  do  well. 

The  barren  externalism  which  had  been  the 
bane  of  the  Jews'  religion  in  earlier  times 
showed  itself  in  the  days  of  Christ  in  an 
aggravated  form  in  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
and  stirred,  as  we  have  seen,  the  sacred  in- 
dignation of  Him  who  was  the  greatest  of 
prophets.  They  relegated  the  ethics  of  reli- 
gion to  a  subordinate  place,  and  even  omitted 
them.  Jesus  relegated  the  keeping  of  rites 
and  customs  and  the  punctilious  attention  to 
ceremonial  details  to  the  subordinate  place, 
and  set  the  great  matters  of  God's  law  and 


THE  GNAT  AND  THE  CAMEL.  187 

of  conformity   to    God's   mind   in  the  front 
of  all* 

A  tendency  similar  to  that  which  was 
shown  by  the  Pharisees  has  appeared  under 
all  forms  of  religion,  and  has  been  sharply 
satirised  in  both  heathen  and  Christian  litera- 
ture. It  is,  however,  most  shameful  in  those 
who  profess  aud  call  themselves  Christians. 
Strange  to  read  of  those  rough  -  handed 
Christians  in  the  past  who  were  unjust  and 
rapacious,  andjyet  imagined  that  by  paying 
tithes,  or  taking  sacraments,  or  endowing 
monasteries  at  death,  they  could  secure  the 
favour  of  God.  But  just  as  delusive  the 
modern  assumption  that  one  may  be  false  to 
his  word,  unkind  in  his  family,  unfair  in  his 
dealings,  and  yet  by  attention  to  Christian 
rites  and  ceremonies  may  find  his  way  to 
heaven.     One  good  reason,  indeed,  for  resist- 

*  It  is  sometimes  represented  that  Christ  was  indifferent 
to  doctrine,  and  cared  for  the  moral  life  only.  This  is  not 
true  to  fact,  nor  is  the  opposition  of  doctrine  to  morals  philo- 
sophically or  historically  just.  Good  doctrine  and  good 
morality  are  close  friends  and  relations  ;  and  they  are  hest 
taught  when  taught  together.  The  moral  precepts  of  Jesus 
are  not  to  be  dissociated  from  His  doctrine  regarding  God  and 
salvation  from  sin. 


1 88  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

ing  the  present-day  craze  for  ceremonial  in 
church  is  that  the  multiplication  of  forms  is 
apt  to  feed  the  vain  confidence  of  men  in 
external  homage,  apart  from  the  inward  qua- 
lities of  justice,  mercy,  and  faith.  We  may 
not  be  able  to  extinguish  the  Pharisaic  spirit, 
which,  if  it  finds  no  food  in  one  direction,  will 
seek  it  in  another,  and  is  very  hard  to  kill ; 
but  at  all  events  we  may. cease  from  making 
that  express  provision  for  it  which  is  involved 
in  giving  prominence  to  what  is  of  mere  ex- 
ternal prescription  in  the  appointments  and 
vestures  of  religion,  instead  of  laying  the 
stress  on  inward  purity  and  moral  sound- 
ness. 

II.  That  a  just  sense  of  proportion  is  essential 
to  a  well-regulated  Christian  mind. 

It  must  be  recognised  that,  even  among 
things  which  are  right,  some  are  greater  and 
some  less.  Some  are  to  be  done  first  and  fore- 
most, and  come  what  will ;  others  are  to  come 
behind,  and  not  to  be  left  undone.  If  the 
Pharisees  had  not  lacked  this  sense  of  propor- 
tion, they  could  never  have  preferred  the  tith- 


THE  GNAT  AND  THE  CAMEL.  189 

ing  of  mint  to  justice,  tithing  of  dill  to  mercy, 
and  tithing  of  cummin  to  faith ;  nor  would 
they  have  condemned  the  righteous  and  mer- 
ciful Saviour  because  He  led  His  disciples 
along  a  path  through  a  cornfield  or  healed 
poor  people  on  the  Sabbath. 

It  is  no  infrequent  thing  to  find  a  person 
who  seems  to  be  very  religious  curiously  de- 
ficient in  the  sense  of  proportion.  He  can- 
not quite  see  what  is  great  or  what  is  small. 
If  he  be  disposed  to  obstinacy  and  bigotry, 
he  simply  regards  all  that  is  plain  to  him  as 
great ;  and  all  his  tenets  and  regulations  as 
equally  great.  If  lie  be  merely  small-minded, 
by  natural  affinity  lie  fastens  keenly  on  small 
points.  These  are  of  the  proper  size  for  him  ; 
and  he  takes  them  to  be  quite  large.  Or  if 
he  be  of  a  self- regarding:  mind,  considering 
religion  simply  with  reference  to  his  own 
safety,  he  lays  all  the  stress  on  the  truths 
which  are  near  himself,  and  has  but  a  faint 
appreciation  of  those  which  are  much  more 
vast  but  more  remote. 

It  marks  the  wisdom  of  Jesus  Christ  that 
He  saw  the   just  proportion   of  things,  and, 


190  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

when  He  spoke  of  duty,  distinguished  the 
greater  elements  of  godly  obedience  from  the 
less.  And  as  He  taught  so  He  lived,  enter- 
ing  into  no  competition  with  the  Pharisees 
regarding  the  minutiae  of  ceremonial  and 
tradition,  but  exhibiting  a  righteousness  far 
exceeding  that  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
a  mercifulness  with  which  their  haughty 
temper  had  no  sympathy,  and  a  fidelity  to 
God  and  to  His  own  Divine  mission  from 
which  no  temptation  could  beguile  or  threat 
deter  Him. 

Away  with  the  Pharisaic  faults  of  ostenta- 
tion and  hypocrisy,  and  the  false  importance 
assigned  to  vexatious  prescriptions  and  petty 
scruples !  We  require  not  so  much  to  d.o 
this  or  that  minute  tiling  according:  to  the 
letter  of  the  law,  as  to  have  heart  and  will 
suffused  with  that  spirit  of  devotion  to  the 
Lord  which  will  carry  us  wisely  through 
all  details  of  conduct,  and  give  breadth  and 
consistency  to  all  our  new  obedience.  We 
want  the  Christ-like  mind  to  survey  the 
large  scope  of  duty,  and  put  the  weightier 
matters  first,  while  the  lighter  follow  after. 


(     191     ) 


XX. 

WHITEWASHED  TOMBS. 

"Woe  unto  you,   Scribes  and  "Woe  unto  you  !  for  ye  are 

Pharisees,    hypocrites  !     for    ye      as  the  tombs  which  appear  not, 
are  like  unto  whited  sepulchres,       and    the    men    that  walk    over 
which  outwardly  appear  beauti-      them   know  it  not."— St.  Luke 
ful,   but    inwardly  are    full    of      xi.  ... 
dead  men's  bones,    and    of    all 
uncleanness.       Even   so   ye  also 
outwardly  appear  righteous  unto 
men,   but  inwardly   ye   are  full 
of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity." — St. 
Matt,  xxiii.  27,  28. 

Graves  lie  thick  about  Jerusalem.  In  the 
valley  and  on  the  hilly  slopes  about  the 
modern  city  they  everywhere  meet  the  eye. 
They  are  not  at  all  beautiful,  nor  are  the 
cemeteries  enclosed  or  kept  with  any  care. 
Mohammedan  tombs,  as  a  rule,  everywhere 
have  a  neglected  appearance.  If  one  is 
occasionally  seen  whitewashed,  it  is  that  of 
a  recently  departed  friend  or  of  a  Moslem 
devotee ;  and  if  one  should  pass  it  on  a 
Friday,  he  would  probably  see  some  persons 


192  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

praying  or  reciting  verses   of  the  Koran  at 
the  spot. 

Jews  have  always  buried  their  dead,  without, 
however,  lavishing  on  their  tombs  such  signs 
of  honour  and  affection  as  are  increasingly 
conspicuous  in  Christian  cemeteries.  But  it 
was  an  old  custom  with  them  to  wash 
sepulchral  stones  once  a  year.  A  day  was 
fixed  for  the  purpose  in  the  month  Adar ; 
and  at  the  time  when  our  Lord  used  this 
metaphor  to  characterise  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  the  tombs  about  Jerusalem  had 
been  recently  whitewashed,  and  so  were 
beautified  for  a  season.  As  He  spoke  in 
the  open  air,  the  white  stones  must  have 
been  conspicuous  on  every  side. 

The  object  of  this  whitewashing,  however, 
was  not  to  embellish,  but  to  point  out  the 
gravestone  to  the  passer-by,  that  he  might 
not  tread  on  it  or  touch  it.  The  law  which 
pronounced  unclean  him  who  touched  a  dead 
body,  or  even  a  dead  bone  unwittingly,  was 
extended  by  the  later  casuistry  so  as  to  count 
one  ceremonially  defiled  who  even  stepped 
unintentionally   over   a   grave    or   touched  a 


WHITEWASHED  TOMBS.  193 

tombstone.  It  is  this  which  explains  the 
saying  of  our  Lord  as  reported  by  St.  Luke. 
It  amounts  to  a  charge  again st  the  Pharisees 
of  concealing  their  true  character  from  the 
people,  and  spreading  contamination  while 
no  one  suspected  them  of  evil.  They  were 
as  graves  which  men  walked  over  without 
knowing  it.  But  the  charge  as  reported  by 
St.  Matthew  was  apparently  spoken  at  a 
later  date,  and  gave  the  metaphor  a  different 
turn.  The  object  of  Jesus  was  to  mark  with 
emphatic  censure  the  contrast  between  the 
outward  religious  profession  of  those  hypo- 
crites and  their  inward  wickedness.  For  this 
end  the  illustration  was  most  apposite.  The 
Pharisees,  like  the  newly-washed  tombs  around 
the  city,  were  fair  and  white  on  the  surface, 
but  unclean  and  corrupt  within. 

-  Jesus  Christ  wished  to  carry  His  hearers 
beyond  the  superficial  conception  of  a  defile- 
ment contracted  by  bodily  touch  and  removed 
by  "divers  washings."  He  looked  on  the 
heart,  and  laid  all  the  stress  on  the  principles 
and  motives  which  actuate  the  will  and  the 
conduct.     It  must  be  confessed  that  His  fol- 

N 


194  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

lowers  have  imperfectly  learned  the  lesson,  for 
there  has  been  and  is  a  great  deal  of  hollow 
Christian  profession.  Not  that  there  has  been 
any  doubt  of  the  mind  of  Christ  on  the  subject, 
or  any  question  among  Christians  of  the  vile- 
ness  of  a  conscious  hypocrisy,  but  that  men 
easily  acquiesce  in  the  failure  to  reach  a  high 
level  of  truth  and  virtue,  and  are  content  to 
pay  their  homage  to  the  ideal  by  appearing 
to  be  what  they  really  are  not.  Christianity 
as  well  as  Judaism  is  infested  by  shams,  and 
echoes  to  the  sounding  brass  of  vain  talkers 
and  canting  rogues ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  held 
accountable  for  these  as  though  they  were  its 
authorised  representatives,  any  more  than  the 
law  of  Moses  was  to  be  blamed  for  the  preten- 
tious Scribes  and  Pharisees  in  the  time  of  our 
Lord.  Christianity,  in  so  far  as  it  learns  of 
Christ,  hates  hypocrisy,  and  holds  it  vain  to 
adorn  or  whitewash  the  outward  profession  so 
lono-  as  the  inward  man  remains  foul  and  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins. 

Indeed,  all  forms  and  sorts  of  religion  have 
brought 'to  light  the  same  tendency  in  men 
to  make  outward   show   do  duty  for  inward 


WHITEWASHED  TOMBS.  195 

reality  ;  and  all  religious  teachers  of  any  note 
have  tried  to  resist  this,  and  have  laboured  to 
impress  on  their  disciples  the  insufficiency  of 
a  merely  prescriptive  and  ceremonial  devotion. 
Thus  Gaudama  (Buddha)  inveighed  against 
the  ostentatious  devoteeism  of  the  Brahmins 
in  words  which  resemble  expressions  of  our 
Lord.  "What  is  the  use  of  plaited  hair,  0 
fool  \  What  of  the  raiment  of  goat-skins  ? 
Within  thee  there  is  ravening,  but  the  outside 
thou  makest  clean."  *  How  like  the  language 
of  Christ  about  false  prophets  attired  in  sheep- 
skins, who  inwardly  were  ravening  wolves  ! 
As  it  is  now  seen,  Buddhism  has  sunk  deplor- 
ably from  its  founder's  platform.  It  has  mul- 
tiplied ceremonial  and  superstitious  usages,  and 
crushed  its  original  spiritual  philosophy  under 
a  mass  of  ignorant  and  tedious  formalism.  In 
fact,  its  degeneracy  has  in  no  small  degree 
resembled  the  corruption  of  Christianity  from 
its  primitive  spiritual  simplicity.  But  its 
founder  was  no  dull  formalist.  We  do  not 
place  Gaudama  on  any  pedestal  of  comparison 
with  Jesus  Christ,  but  it  is  only  fair  to  him  to 

*  Titcomb's  Short  Chapters  on  Buddhism,  p.  167. 


196  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

remember  that  he  emphatically  put  purity  and 
virtue  above  all  shows  and  observances  of 
piety.  He  charged  his  followers  to  put  away 
impure  thoughts,  and  not  deem  it  enough 
to  observe  external  rules  or  render  temple 
offerings. 

Every  reader  of  the  Old  Testament  knows 
how  earnestly  the  prophets  of  Judah  and 
Israel  protested  against  the  offering  of  a  for- 
mal worship  and  seeming  obedience  to 'Jeho- 
vah, while  His  laws  were  broken,  and  the 
hearts  of  princes,  priests,  and  people  alike 
went  after  the  gods  and  vices  of  the  heatheD. 
Jesus  Christ  on  this  subject  simply  followed 
the  prophets  of  His  nation  ;  but  He  brought  to 
this  theme  a  keener  insight  into  human  nature, 
and  that  more  intense  abhorrence  of  unreality 
which  belonged  to  Him  as  the  Witness  for 
God  absolutely  faithful  and  true. 

By  the  example  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by 
the  very  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  public 
teachers  of  Christianity  are  bound  to  go  straight 
to  the  central  question  of  inward  purification 
and  inward  spiritual  life.  It  is  not  at  all 
enough  to  inveigh  against  wilful  hypocrisy,  or 


WHITEWASHED  TOMBS.  197 

against  a  thin  veneer  of  religion  pretending  to 
be  a  solid  substance.  Such  invective  is  easy 
and  popular,  but  it  may  be  overdone  or  mis- 
directed. After  all,  there  is  not  nearly  so  much 
dissimulation  in  Churches  as  there  is  unworthy 
contentment  with  the  form  of  godliness  with- 
out the  power.  And  if  this  be  prevalent,  how 
unwise  and  mischievous  is  the  increase  of  cere- 
monial in  church  service  !  Reverent  forms  of 
worship  there  ought  to  be,  but  the  multiplica- 
tion of  formalities  and  the  emphasis  laid  on 
ritual  and  on  consecrated  places  and  vessels 
lead  men  in  the  wrong-  direction,  and  encourage 
that  regard  to  outward  show  which  it  is  so 
necessary  to  discourage  and  reduce.  Ritual- 
ism no  doubt  means  well.  It  would  employ 
that  which  is  without  in  order  to  influence 
that  which  is  within.  But  the  way  of  Christ 
is  the  reverse  of  this.  It  is  to  cleanse  a  man 
inwardly  through  the  belief  of  the  truth,  and 
so  to  influence  his  worship  and  his  daily  walk. 
Those  who  have  gone  most  deeply  into  the 
problem  of  the  improvement  of  society  and 
the  elevation  of  the  more  depressed  and  de- 
graded classes,   have  been   compelled    to   see 


198  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

that  a  beginning  must  be  made  at  the  very 
springs  of  inward  life  and  character.  Repres- 
sion of  facilities  for  evil  indulgence  is  of  some 
use,  and  the  providing  of  helps  and  advantages 
for  the  formation  of  decent  and  virtuous  habits 
may  be  of  very  considerable  service  ;  but  there 
is  no  effective  drying  up  of  social  vices  or  vic- 
tory over  squalid  conditions  and  base  indul- 
gences till  new  convictions,  motives,  and  senti- 
ments are  brought  into  the  breasts  of  men. 
Therefore  it  takes  a  higrh-souled  man  to  be  a 

o 

true  reformer.  There  is  no  better  actual  to  be 
reached  without  a  finer  and  loftier  ideal. 

"  Subsist  no  rules  of  life  outside  of  life, 
No  perfect  manners  without  Christian  souls  ; 
The  Christ  Himself  had  been  no  lawgiver 
Unless  He  had  given  the  life  too  with  the  law."  * 

The  higher  we  rise  in  our  aims  and  the 
more  we  deal  with  the  moral  and  spiritual  life, 
the  more  do  we  find  that  everything  depends 
on  inward  faith  and  feeling.  The  forms  and 
apparatus  of  religion  may  be  provided  and 
maintained  with  diligence,  and  even  with  pro- 
fusion ;  and  it  may  appear  as  though  religion 

*  Aurora  Leigh. 


WHITEWASHED  TOMBS.  199 

were  greatly  flourishing,  and  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  were  at  hand.  Yet  the  show  may  be 
quite  fallacious  and  misleading.  Keligion  may 
be  faint  and  low.  Vain  and  self-righteous  men 
greatly  affect  outward  shows  of  piety.  Ignorant 
and  superstitious  men  put  their  trust  in  ritual. 
Even  wicked  men  may  take  to  church-going 
for  a  pretence.  Nothing  is  really  gained  till 
we  are  inwardly  cleansed  and  renewed,  so  that 
fresh  convictions  of  truth  and  duty  occupy  the 
soul,  and  new  beliefs,  hopes,  and  loves  elevate 
the  character  and  direct  the  life. 

Why  did  not  Jesus  Christ,  if  He  was  the 
Son  of  God,  reconstruct  the  world  ?  Why 
did  He  not  with  a  flash  of  Divine  power  put 
down  the  horrible  evils  and  tyrannies  under 
which  the  nations  groaned,  and  set  up  the 
city  of  God  and  the  reign  of  righteousness  % 
It  is  easy  to  put  such  questions.  We  do  not 
attempt  a  complete  answer.  We  are  content 
to  point  out  that  a  slow  process  of  working 
is  more  Divine  than  a  rapid  one ;  and  in 
this  instance  we  may  perhaps  render  a  reason 
why  it  is  so.  The  evil  which  was  in  the 
world  when  Jesus   Christ  dwelt  amons:  men 


200  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

was  rooted  not  in  circumstances,  or  even  in 
institutions — though  these  Inst  were  tainted 
by  it  and  tended  in  turn  to  increase  it — but  in 
the  heart  of  man  ;  and  therefore  the  remedy 
which  the  Divine  Eedeemer  and  Healer  saw 
fit  to  apply  was  not  a  subversion  of  insti- 
tutions, or  a  hasty  alteration  of  the  social 
environment  which  men  had  made  for  them- 
selves, but  a  new  birth  of  the  individual, 
involving  a  new  growth  of  moral  sentiment 
and  life,  which  has  only  to  increase  and  mul- 
tiply in  order  to  spread  a  blessed  change 
through  families,  tribes,  and  nations,  reform 
institutions,  reconstruct  society,  and  renew 
the  face  of  the  wTorld. 

Great  thinkers,  great  dreamers  have  ima- 
gined a  new  republic  or  a  peaceful  king- 
dom, moulding  its  people  to  wisdom  and 
virtue  by  wise  statutes  and  customs.  Our 
religion  has  such  a  kingdom  in  sure  promise, 
but  proposes  to  reach  it  in  a  manner  that 
seems  slow  and  yet  is  very  certain.  This  man 
and  that  man  are  born  again.  This  house  and 
that  house  are  brought  under  the  hallowing 
power  of  one  or  more  spiritual  persons  dwell- 


WHITE  WA  SHED  TOMBS.  20 1 

ing  there.  Outward  professions  are  good  only 
in  so  far  as  they  express  inward  life.  But 
wherever  there  is  heaven-born  life  there  is 
harmony  with  God ;  and  the  increase  of  such 
harmony  is  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Nothing  is  gained  by  whitewash  or  varnish. 
God  is  not  mocked,  and  even  man  is  not 
long  imposed  on  by  a  vain  show  of  devotion. 
"We  once  heard  Father  Taylor,  a  noted  preacher 
to  sailors  in  America,  pray  that  men  who 
thought  themselves  good  and  were  not  might 
be  undeceived ;  and  he  cried,  "  Lord,  take  off 
the  whitewash !  " 


(       202      ) 


XXL 

"THAT    FOX:' 

"In  that  very  hour  there  came  certain  Pharisees,  saying  to  Him, 
Get  thee  out,  and  go  hence  ;  for  Herod  would  fain  kill  Thee.  And 
He  said  unto  them,  Go  and  say  to  that  fox,  Behold,  I  cast  out  devils 
and  perform  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  the  third  day  I  am 
perfected."— St.  Luke  xiii.  31,  32. 

The  attempt  of  the  Pharisees  to  frighten  Jesus 
Christ  out  of  Perea  drew  from  Him  a  prompt 
and  sharp  rejoinder.  Their  statement  that 
Herod  meant  to  kill  Him  may  have  been  a 
pure  invention  on  their  part,  for  we  are  told 
afterwards  that  Herod  had  long  been  desirous 
to  see  Jesus ;  and  when  he  did  see  Him  as  a 
prisoner  at  Jerusalem,  his  bearing  towards  our 
Lord  was  one  of  heartless  levity  rather  than  of 
truculence  or  malice.*"  Yet  it  may  be  that  the 
Tetrarch  wished  to  hasten  the  departure  of  the 
Galilean  Prophet  from  the  region  beyond  Jor- 
dan, and  therefore  caused  a  report  to  go  out 

*  St.  Luke  xxiii.  8-1 1. 


"THAT  FOX."  203 

that  he  meant  to  do  to  Jesus  as  he  had  done 
to  John  the  Baptist.  If  so,  he  may  have  in- 
stigated those  Pharisees  to  carry  the  report  to 
our  Saviour,  and  to  urge  Him  to  save  Himself 
by  at  once  escaping  out  of  Herod's  province 
into  that  which  was  governed  by  Pontius 
Pilate.  Something  of  the  sort  seems  to  us 
probable" from  the  circumstance  that  our  Lord 
not  merely  gave  an  answer  to  the  Pharisees, 
which  would  have  been  enough  if  their  word 
of  alarm  had  been  a  mere  audacious  lie  devised 
by  themselves,  but  charged  them  to  take  back 
His  reply  to  Herod — "  that  fox,"  that  creature 
of  cunning  and  deceit. 

The  answer  was  to  the  effect  that  no  such 
threats  could  influence  the  purpose  or  in  the 
least  degree  accelerate  the  movements  of  the 
Nazarene.  His  work  was  near  an  end,  but 
He  would  have  no  hurry  or  panic.  He  would 
cast  out  demons  and  perform  cures  to  the  last 
day  that  His  predestined  stay  in  Perea  would 
permit.  If  Herod  wished  to  put  a  hasty  stop 
to  such  works,  so  much  to  the  discredit  of 
Herod.  As  for  the  menace  to  His  life,  Jesus 
despised  it.     He  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem, 


204  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

knowing  that  He  would  be  killed.  But  Herod 
could  not  kill  Him.  At  the  outset  of  His 
ministry  an  angry  crowd  in  Galilee  had  tried 
to  make  an  end  of  Him,  but  they  could  not.'" 
The  Prophet  could  not  die  but  at  Jerusalem. 

The  metaphor  here  was  in  the  oppro- 
brious epithet  applied  to  Herod  Antipas — 
"  that  fox."  Evidently  it  expressed,  and  was 
meant  to  express,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  saw 
through  and  despised  the  cunning  wiles  of  the 
Tetrarch.  Many  writers  on  the  Gospels,  both 
in  Germany  and  among  ourselves,  have  been 
anxious  to  protect  our  Saviour  from  the 
charge  of  speaking  disrespectfully  of  a  ruler, 
and  have  therefore  tried  to  show  that  this 
epithet  was  in  reality  hurled  against  the 
Pharisees,  who  had  affected  so  much  solicitude 
for  His  life.  Now  we  know  that  Jesus  Christ 
did  not  spare  epithets  when  He  condemned 
the  Pharisees;  but  He  spoke  them  directly, 
not  indirectly  or  by  implication.  He  called 
them  hypocrites  and  blind,  and  compared 
them,  as  we  have  seen,  to  whitewashed  tombs. 
In  the  present  case,  it  is  as  plain  as  words 

*  Chap.  iv.  28-30. 


"  THAT  FOX:'  205 

can  make  it  that  Jesus  stigmatised  Herod 
as  "  that  fox."  The  man  was  a  selfish  in- 
triguer, neither  good  nor  strong,  but  cunning, 
subservient  to  those  above  him,  a  sort  of 
jackal  to  the  imperial  lion  at  Eome,  but  ruth- 
less to  any  who  were  beneath  him  and  within 
his  grasp.  "If  ever  there  was  a  man  who 
richly  deserved  contempt,  it  was  the  paltry, 
perjured  princeling — false  to  his  religion,  false 
to  his  nation,  false  to  his  friends,  false  to  his 
brethren,  false  to  his  wife — to  whom  Jesus 
gave  the  name  of  '  that  fox.' "  * 

Probably  it  was  this  metaphor  that  sug- 
gested to  Jesus  that  of  the  hen  protecting  her 
brood,  which  immediately  follows.  He  looked 
on  Herod  and  men  of  his  stamp  as  devourers 
of  the  people.  As  for  Himself,  He  might 
seem  to  be  weak  and  unable  to  save  Himself, 
but  He  was  the  best  friend  of  the  people ;  and 
if  they  would  only  gather  to  Him,  He  would 
cover  them  with  the  wings  of  His  protection, 
so  that  no  fox  could  do  them  hurt.  But  the 
Pharisees,  and  ultimately  the  misguided  people 
too,  took  part  with  the  fox  against  Him. 

*  Farrar  :  Life  of  Christ,  vol.  ii.  p.  98,  nth  ed. 


2o6  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  epithet  certainly  startles  one.  It  must 
have  sounded  to  the  Pharisees  like  the  crack 
of  a  whip.  But  there  is  no  need  to  apologise 
for  it  as  though  it  were  unworthy  of  Him  who 
was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and  had  fallen 
from  His  lips  incautiously.  It  was  calmly 
spoken,  and  proceeded  from  a  just  feeling  of 
scorn  for  a  tricky  and  crafty  character.  And 
why  should  it  be  thought  strange  that  Jesus 
could  entertain  and  express  a  feeling  of  scorn 
for  what  is  mean  and  wicked  ?  He  spoke 
forth  His  scorn,  and  even  His  indignation,  at 
other  times  ;  why  not  also  His  contempt  for 
the  despicable  ruler  who  had  beheaded  John 
the  Baptist  for  a  whim,  and  now,  as  the 
Pharisees  reported,  would  fain  kill  One  who 
was  doing  nothing  but  good  to  his  subjects, 
casting  out  demons  and  performing  cures  ? 

Some  of  our  moralists  assert  too  roundly 
that  mortal  man  has  no  right  to  feel  con- 
tempt. There  is  a  contempt  that  is  ignoble, 
and  there  is  a  contempt  that  is  noble.  The 
io-noble  is  that  which  rests  on  mere  conven- 

o 

tionalism  and  prejudice,  as  when  one  despises 
another  for   being   less    highly  born    or   less 


"THAT  FOX."  207 

richly  provided  than  himself.  It  flourishes 
among  conventional  professors  of  religion  who 
yet  sing  the  praises  of  humility.  It  was  a 
marked  characteristic  of  the  Pharisees,  who 
"  trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were  right- 
eous, and  despised  others."  Such  hauteur 
could  not  find  place  in  the  breast  of  our 
Saviour,  and  ought  not  to  be  harboured  by 
any  Christian.  "Wherever  it  enters  it  har- 
dens the  heart,  dries  up  the  .sympathies, 
inflates  the  sense  of  self-importance,  and  in- 
duces a  cold  indifference  to  the  wants  and 
woes  of  others.  But  there  is  a  noble  scorn 
that  may  dwell  in  the  heart  along  with  tender 
compassion  and  fervent  love.  If  there  be  a 
genuine  appreciation  of  what  is  good  and  true, 
the  obverse  side  of  it  must  be  a  healthy  con- 
tempt for  what  is  wicked  and  false.  When 
an  honest  man  hears  a  boaster  or  a  liar  speak, 
or  notices  a  mean  and  foxy  fellow  at  his  tricks, 
what  can  he  feel  but  scorn  ?  Why  should  he 
not  feel  it  ?  And  when  a  man  detects  himself 
in  some  cheating  phrase  or  subtle  manoeuvre 
to  outwit  the  simple,  can  he  do  better  than 
despise  himself  1 


208  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

In  the  mouth  and  in  the  heart  of  Jesus 
Christ  there  was  no  guile,  and  we  may  rest 
assured  that  those  who  please  Him  are  the 
men  of  a  simple  faith,  candid  speech,  and 
honest  purpose.  That  man  cannot  be  His 
disciple  who  breathes  intrigue  and  practises 
deceit,  and  so  is  liable  to  be  described  by  the 
Lord's  withering  epithet—"  that  fox." 


(      209       ) 


XXII. 

THE  HEN  AND  CHICKENS. 

"  O     Jerusalem,     Jerusalem,  "  O     Jerusalem,      Jerusalem, 

which      killeth     the    prophets,  which  killeth  the  prophets,  and 

and  stoneth  them  that  are  sent  stoneth  them  that  are  sent  unto 

unto  her  !    how  often   would    I  her !    how  often   would    I   have 

have   gathered   thy  children  to-  gathered  thy  children  together, 

gether,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  even    as    a    hen    gathereth    her 

her   chickens  under  her   wings,  own  brood  under  her  wings,  and 

and  ye  would  not !  "—St.  Matt.  ye  would  not !  " — St.  Lukk  xiii. 

xxiii.  37.  34. 

The  English  translation,  following  the  Vul- 
gate, makes  the  illustration  even  more  homely 
than  need  be.  Our  Lord  said,  "As  a  bird 
gathers  her  young  under  her  wings."  The 
translators  fix  on  a  particular  bird  —  the 
poultry  hen.  Let  it  be  so.  No  bird  can 
better  illustrate  our  Lord's  meaning,  and 
His  word  carries  such  intrinsic  dignity  that 
it  does  not  need  to  fear  the  familiarity  of 
a  metaphor. 

The   object  was  to  indicate  the  Saviour's 

0 


210  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

feeling  for  the  people  of  Jerusalem  in  view  of 
their  city's  hastening  doom.  If  He  had  added 
nothing  to  the  parable  of  the  vineyard  and 
the  husbandman,  and  the  terrible  statement 
which  followed  it  regarding  the  utter  destruc- 
tion of  those  who  were  to  reject  "the  chief 
corner-stone,"  *  it  might  have  been  inferred 
that  His  only  feeling  was  one  of  stern  dis- 
pleasure ;  but  the  saying  now  before  us, 
coming  after  those  warnings,  revealed  a  mos. 
pathetic  sorrow — the  same  which  afterwards 
showed  itself  in  tears  and  reproaches  as  He 
beheld  the  city  on  the  way  from  Bethany. 
This  was  indeed  returning  love  for  hatred, 
since  Jerusalem  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
opposition  which  He  encountered ;  the  rulers 
were  bitter  against  Him ;  and  the  general 
population  had  never  shown  to  Him  even  as 
much  respect  as  did  the  inhabitants  of  the 
northern  towns  and  villages.  But  He  looked 
on  it  as  the  seat  of  His  father  David's  throne, 
and  of  the  Temple,  His  Heavenly  Father's 
house.  There  centred  the  national  life  and 
hope  of  the   people  who  were  by  Messianic 

*  St.  Matt.  xxi.  33-44. 


THE  HEN  AND  CHICKENS.  211 

right  especially  His  own.  And  this  sorrowful 
apostrophe  broke  from  Him  as  He  thought  of 
this  city  refusing  and  maltreating  so  many  pro- 
phets— a  wickedness  about  to  come  to  the  full 
in  the  rejection  and  crucifixion  of  Himself. 

"When  Jehovah  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt, 
He  bore  them  as  "on  eagle's  wings."  *  Such 
was  the  Old  Testament  metaphor  for  strength. 
The  eagle  will  bear  her  young  on  her  own 
wide  pinions  to  their  rocky  nest ;  and  so  the 
Lord  bore  and  carried  the  tribes  to  the  rocks 
of  Sinai  and  Horeb.  But  now  the  question 
was  of  protecting  the  people  of  Jerusalem  from 
impending  judgment,  and  the  simile  to  be 
used  must  suggest  tenderness  and  sure  de- 
fence. So  the  Lord  illustrated  His  willingness 
to  save  by  the  covering  wings  of  a  mother- 
bird  extended  over  her  brood. 

The  maternal  love  and  courasre  of  birds  have 
been  celebrated  in  the  literature  of  all  nations. 
Even  the  Mussulman  admires  it ;  witness  the 
Moslem  story  of  the  white  dove.  One  came 
before  Mohammed  with  two  fledglings  tied 
up  in  a  cloth,  which  he  had  taken  from  the 

*  Eiodus  xix.  4. 


212  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

wood.  The  mother  dove  had  bravely  followed. 
Mohammed  commanded  that  the  cloth  should 
be  opened;  on  which  the  dove  flew  down, 
and  covered  her  trembling  offspring  with  her 
wings.  Then  the  Prophet  directed  that  the 
mother  and  her  young  should  be  restored 
unhurt  to  the  nest  in  the  wood,  and  took 
the  opportunity  to  teach  a  good  lesson  : — 

"  From  Allah's  self  cometh  this  wondrous  love  ; 
Yea,  and  I  swear  by  Him  who  sent  me  here, 
He  is  more  tender  than  a  nursing  dove, 
More  pitiful  to  men  than  she  to  these."  * 

To  appreciate  the  feeling  of  Jesus  Christ 
for  Jerusalem,  we  must  remember  how  com- 
plete was  His  knowledge  of  its  sin.  He  called 
to  mind  all  its  blood-guiltiness  in  connection 
with  prophets  and  faithful  witnesses  for  God. 
He  foresaw  that  it  would  soon  cut  off  His 
own  life,  that  of  His  martyr  Stephen,  that  of 
His  apostle  James,  would  have  His  apostle 
Peter  in  prison,  and  would  try  to  destroy 
His  apostle  Paul.  Yet  He  lamented  over  that 
great  city,  and  His  compassion  yearned  to 
rescue  its  people  from  destruction. 

*  Edwin  Arnold's  Pearls  of  the  Faith,  p.  275. 


THE  HEN  AND  CHICKENS.  213 

"  How  often  would  I  have  gathered  you  !  " 
Most  of  the  commentators  understand  this 
of  the  Lord's  feeling  for  Jerusalem  before  He 
came  in  the  flesh  as  well  as  after.  They 
suppose  that  as,  in  thinking  of  Jerusalem's 
sin,  He  surveyed  the  past  ages  of  resistance 
to  the  voices  of  the  prophets,  as  also  in 
describing  the  Divine  willingness  to  save 
Jerusalem  and  the  Jews,  He  looked  all  down 
the  past  ages  of  prophetic  calls  of  repentance 
and  messages  of  grace.  It  may  be  so.  Who 
can  determine  the  limits  of  our  Saviour's 
thought  ?  But  as  a  matter  of  exact  interpre- 
tation, we  hold  that  Jesus  referred  to  the 
opportunities  which  He  had  given  to  Jerusa- 
lem in  His  personal  ministry.  He  carefully 
distinguished  His  own  ministry  from  that  of 
preceding  prophets  in  the  parable  of  the 
vineyard,  and  had  not  even  represented  Him- 
self as  having  sent  those  prophets.  It  was 
the  Father  who  had  sent  the  prophets,  and 
finally  sent  Him.  He  referred,  therefore,  as 
it  seems  to  us,  to  the  repeated  visits  which 
He  had  paid  to  Jerusalem  at  personal  risk, 
and    His   willingness    on    each    occasion    to 


214  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

receive  the  people  of  that  guilty  city  under 
the  wings  of  His  protection.  But  they  had 
never  flocked  to  Him  ;  they  would  not. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  strange  that  the  will 
of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  should  be  allowed 
to  resist  and  defeat  the  mercy  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  whole  history  of  the  nation  was 
one  of  often-repeated  resistance  to  the  will 
of  Jehovah,  and  rejection  of  His  grace.  The 
Lord  desired  to  save,  but  never  would  force 
salvation  on  any  nation  or  on  any  creature. 
Indeed,  a  forced  salvation  would  be  futile, 
and  mercy  received  against  one's  will  could 
do  no  good.  So  the  Jews  were  made  welcome 
to  come  to  Jesus  Christ  that  they  might  have 
life,  but,  if  they  would  not  come,  they  must 
take  the  consequences.  We  are  glad  to  know 
that  thousands  in  Jerusalem  afterwards  turned 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  when  He  was  preached  to 
them  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  but  the  mass 
of  the  population  did  not  because  they  would 
not,  and  would  not  because  they  were  blinded 
by  a  sort  of  self-righteous  fanaticism.  To  this 
day  the  relations  subsisting  between  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  Jewish  nation  at  large  through- 


THE  HEN  AND  CHICKENS.  215 

out  the  world  may  be  expressed  in  His  own 
words,  "  I  would,  but  ye  would  not."  * 

The  illustration  used  by  our  Lord  implied 
that  danger  was  at  hand.  Observe  a  hen  in 
the  open  field,  happy  with  her  chickens  run- 
ning about  her,  picking  and  chirping  in  the 
sunshine.  Suddenly  a  hawk  appears  in  the 
air,  or  some  mischievous  animal  comes  slyly 
over  the  ground.  On  the  instant  the  hen  calls 
her  brood  to  her,  covers  them  with  her  win^s, 
and  is  ready  for  their  defence.  Timid  enough 
at  other  times,  she  is  brave  for  her  chickens, 
and  will  die  rather  than  let  one  of  them  be 
lost.  So  the  Lord  Jesus,  perceiving  the  danger 
which  hovered  over  Jerusalem  long  before  the 
Jews  were  aware  of  it, ,  was  willing  to  cover 
and  save  them.     So  also  is  it  in  every  age  and 

*  "  Professor  Delitzsch's  Hebrew  New  Testament  is  much 
appreciated  by  tbe  Jews  of  Baghdad.  ...  In  the  desert, 
where  we  are  at  present  encamped  in  tents,  on  the  highway 
to  Babylon,  I  am  now  sitting  with  five,  who  possibly  may  be 
direct  descendants  of  those  who  refused  to  return  to  their  own 
land.  Had  Professor  Delitzsch  seen  the  tears  that  rolled  down 
from  their  eyes  on  my  reading  to  them  from  his  translation 
our  Saviour's  touching  words  in  Matt,  xxiii.  37-39,  I  am  sure 
he  would  feel  a  thousand  times  compensated  for  his  labours." 
— Report  of  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  for  1884.  p.  191. 


2i6  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

every  nation.  He  who  is  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  sees  the  approaching  perdition  of  un- 
godly men,  and  is  willing  to  deliver  them. 
Those  who  come  to  Him  He  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out. 

The  illustration  of  the  hen  and  chickens 
was  sure  to  catch  the  imagination  of  John 
Bunyan,  and  he  has  worked  it  out  with 
characteristic  ingenuity  in  the  second  part  of 
the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  The  Interpreter  led 
Christiana,  Mercy,  and  the  children  "  into  a 
room  where  was  a  hen  with  chickens,  and 
bade  them  observe  a  while.  ...  So  they  gave 
heed,  and  perceived  a  fourfold  method  of  the 
hen  towards  her  chickens,  (i.)  She  had  a 
common  call,  and  that  she  hath  all  the  day 
long.  (2.)  She  had  a  special  call,  and  that 
she  had  but  sometimes.  (3.)  She  had  a  brood- 
ing note.  (4.)  She  had  an  outcry.  Now, 
said  he,  compare  this  bird  to  your  King,  and 
those  chickens  to  His  obedient  ones.  He  has 
a  common  call  and  a  special  call.  He  has 
also  a  brooding;  voice  for  those  that  are  under 
His  wing ;  and  He  has  an  outcry,  to  give  the 
alarm  when  He  seeth  the  enemy  coming." 


THE  HEN  AND  CHICKENS.  217 

It  belongs  to  the  theological  school  of  which 
Bunyan  was  a  staunch  adherent  to  mark  a 
distinction  between  the  common  call  to  sal- 
vation and  the  special  or  effectual  call,  the 
former  being  the  invitation  of  the  gospel, 
the  latter  that  invitation  as  enforced  and 
made  to  take  effect  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  But  enough  for  the  elucidation  •  of 
our  present  topic  that  Christ  is  willing  to 
gather  sinners  and  save  them — an  assurance 
which  is  call  sufficient  to  warrant  all  who 
hear  it  to  come  to  Him,  and  to  condemn  all 
those  who  hear  it  and  refuse  compliance. 

What  a  simple  way  of  salvation !  And 
how  sure  and  perfect .  the  defence  !  When 
lambs  are  startled,  they  run  to  the  ewes ;  the 
kids  to  the  she-goats.  Among  the  fiercest 
animals,  the  young  run  to  their  mothers  for 
protection,  and  these  will  guard  their  off- 
spring at  whatever  peril  to  themselves.  But 
no  quadruped,  wild  or  tame,  can  cover  her 
young  so  completely  as  a  bird  can  do  with 
her  folding  wings.  Therefore  is  this  last  the 
apt  illustration  of  the  sufficiency  of  Christ 
to  save.     Those  who  trust  in  Him  are  com- 


21 S  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

pletely  covered  by  His  righteousness  and 
strength. 

On  this  wise  has  Divine  salvation  always 
been  revealed.  The  Psalms  frequently  refer 
to  the  favour  and  protection  of  Jehovah  as 
the  shadow  of  outstretched  wings.*  So  the 
ancients  made  the  Most  High  their  refuge,  and 
so  are  all  Christians  saved  and  kept  in  the 
state  of  salvation  simply  by  coming  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  and  abiding  in  Him. 

Our  Eedeemer's  lament  over  Jerusalem 
shows  what  His  heart  is  toward  all  man- 
kind. It  is  a  grief  to  Him  to  have  His 
offer  of  salvation  slighted,  a  joy  to  have  it 
embraced.  How  unhappy  the  mother-bird 
while  any  of  her  brood  continue  astray  and 
heedless  of  her  call  1  How  glad  when  she 
knows  that  they  are  all  with  her,  trusting 
to  her  love  and  care  1  Her  joy  is  greater 
than  theirs,  because  she  understands  better 
than  they  do  both  their  danger  and  their 
weakness.  So  Jesus  Christ,  who  grieved  so 
deeply  over  Jerusalem  and  her  children,  has 
His  Spirit  vexed  when  men  who  have  been 

*  Ps.  xvii.  8  ;  xxxvi.  7  ;  lvii.  1  ;  lxi.  4  ;  lxiii.  7  ;  xci.  4. 


THE  HEN  AND  CHICKENS.  219 

called  by  His  gospel  turn  away.  He  rejoices 
over  every  one  who  obeys  the  gospel  more 
than  the  saved  sinner  can  rejoice,  for  no  one 
knows  as  He  knows  the  awfulness  of  that 
perdition  from  which  He  rescues  His  people, 
or  their  weakness  and  hopelessness  before  the 
impending  judgment. 

What  manner  of  persons  Christians  ought 
to  be !  What  joy  of  faith,  what  restfulness 
of  love  should  be  under  the  covert  of  His 
wings  !  What  nearness,  too,  to  one  another, 
and  what  obligation  to  brotherly  kindness ! 
The  brood  are  packed  very  closely  under  the 
hen.  Whatever  little  disputes  and  rivalries 
they  may  have  had  as  they  ran  about  the 
farmyard,  the  chickens  must  not  quarrel  in 
their  hiding-place  under  the  wing.  There 
they  dwell  together  in  unity  ;  and  the  hen, 
by  her  love  to  them  and  her  "  brooding  note," 
teaches  them  to  love  one  another.  Surely 
those  who  are  in  Christ  must  also  learn  to 
make  room  for  one  another,  forbear  one  an- 
other in  love,  and  keep  one  another  warm  in 
fellowship. 

The  "  day  approaching  "  is  that  of  the  glory 


220  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

of  Christ,  and  of  our  "gathering  together  to 
Him."  In  that  day  all  His  saints  will  be 
grouped  around  Him ;  but  it  will  be  too  late 
for  sinners  who  rejected  His  gospel  to  cry — 
"  Make  room  for  me  also  !  Saviour,  take  me 
in ! "  The  day  for  the  gathering  in  grace  is 
now,  and  it  is  fleeting  fast  away. 

" c  To-day  the  Saviour  calls  ! 
For  refuge  fly  ; 
The  storm  of  vengeance  falls, 
Ruin  is  nigh.'" " 

"  He  shall  cover  thee  with  His  feathers,  and 
under  His  wings  shalt  thou  trust." 


(      221      ) 


XXIII. 

LIGHTNING. 

"  For  as  the  lightning  cometh  forth  from  the  east,  and  is  seen  even 
unto  the  west;  so  shall  be  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man." — St. 
Matt.  xxiv.  27. 

A  flash  of  lightning  is  proverbial  as  an  illus- 
tration of  suddenness  and  swiftness.  Our 
greatest  poet  writes  of  the — 

"  Momentary  and  sight-outrunning  lightnings, 
Precursors  of  the  dreadful  thunder-claps."  * 

But  the  point  of  comparison  intended  by 
our  Lord's  use  of  this  metaphor  is  not  so 
much  the  suddenness  of  the  flash,  as  the 
wide  visibility  of  lightning.  No  matter  in 
what  direction  you  are  looking,  you  see  it. 
It  comes  out  of  the  East,  and  shines  even 
to  the  West,  i.e.,  it  seems  to  light  up  with  its 
vivid   sheen  all  the  aerial  space  within    our 

*  The  Tempest,  act  i.  scene  2. 


222  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

horizon.  The  phrase  is  used  in  a  popular 
sense,  and  does  not  assume  to  set  forth  the 
movement  of  lightning  with  scientific  pre- 
cision. It  is  an  allusion  to  what  all  have 
observed  in  thunderstorms;  a  sudden  vivid 
light  catches  every  eye  when — 

"  From  cloud  to  cloud  the  rending  lightnings  rage."  * 

And  this  is  taken  by  Christ  as  an  illus- 
tration of  His  own  universal  visibility  at  the 
era  of  His  second  and  glorious  appearing. 
He  will  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and 
every  eye  shall  see  Him.  "  All  the  tribes  of 
the  earth  shall  mourn,  and  shall  see  the  Son 
of  Man  coming  on  the  clouds  of  heaven  with 
power  and  great  glory."  f 

I.  This  is  stated  to  put  the  disciples  on 
their  guard  against  pseudo  -  Christs.  Such 
persons  were  to  arise  in  the  later  and  much- 
troubled  years  of  the  Jewish  state.  Though 
fanatics  and  impostors,  they  were  to  gather 
adherents  in  that  time  of  confusion  and  des- 
peration. 

*  Thomson.  t  Ver.  30. 


LIGHTNING.  223 

It  is  matter  of  history  that  such  men 
did  appear,  and  deluded  many  into  an  ac- 
ceptance of  their  claims  by  a  pretence  of 
wonder-working,  and  by  promising  to  the 
Jews  miraculous  help  from  heaven  to  raise 
the  siege  of  Jerusalem  and  drive  away  the 
Eoman  armies.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
similar  deceivers  will  play  a  baleful  part  in 
Christendom  before  a  greater  judgment  falls. 
There  will  be  false  Christs  and  false  prophets 
in  the  last  days ;  but  such  persons  will  avoid 
close  scrutiny  of  their  character  and  claims. 
"  It  is  at  once  the  impostor's  policy  and  the 
fanatic's  instinct  to  deny  facilities  for  full 
and  impartial  examination.  Hence  the  pre- 
tended Christ  will  probably  either  betake 
himself  to  the  desert  or  screen  himself  in 
some  chamber  where  there  will  be  compara- 
tive difficulty  of  access  and  of  sifting  inves- 
tigation." *  Quite  different  was  the  method 
of  the  true  Christ,  who  bore  Himself  to- 
wards all  classes  of  the  people  with  the 
utmost  candour  and  simplicity.  Thus  He 
was  able  to  say  to  the  high  priest,  "  I  have 

Morrison's  Comm.  in  loc. 


224  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

spoken  openly  to  the  world ;  I  ever  taught 
in  synagogues  and  in  the  temple,  where  all 
the  Jews  come  together ;  and  in  secret  spake 
I  nothing."  *  So  it  was  at  His  first  coming, 
and  at  the  second  the  visibility  will  be  on  a 
greater  and  more  splendid  scale.  There  will 
be  no  haze  of  uncertainty  or  half  concealment, 
but,  "  as  the  lightning  cometh  forth  from  the 
east,  and  is  seen  even  unto  the  west,  so  shall 
be  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man." 


o 


II.  This  is  fatal  to  a  modern  theory  of  a 
secret  coming  of  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  a 
secret  rapture  of  some  of  the  saints  to  meet 
Him.  It  is  put  forth  by  certain  confident 
students  of  prophecy  that  the  Lord  is  to  come 
to  some  point  or  halting-place  in  the  aerial 
firmament  unperceived  by  the  tribes  and 
nations  of  the  earth ;  and  that  such  saints 
as  are  prepared  and  watchful  will  in  a  secret 
manner  be  caught  up  to  join  Him  and  dwell 
with  Him  in  mid-air,  reigning  from  thence 
over  the  earth,  and  after  a  time  re-descending 
with  Him  to  the  earth  in  His  glorious  train. 

*  St.  John  xviiL  20. 


LIGHTNING.  225 

Now  of  the  rapture  of  the  saints  to  "  meet  the 
Lord  in  the  air "  there  is  no  room  to  doubt ; 
but  the  notion  of  a  secret  coming,  responded 
to  by  a  secret  rapture,  and  of  a  halting-place 
for  months  or  years  in  the  air  that  surrounds 
our  globe,  is,  so  far  as  we  understand  the 
Scriptures,  not  only  without  their  sanction, 
but  contrary  to  their  teaching. 

It  is  against  Scripture  to  suppose  that  only 
some  of  the  living  saints  will  "  be  caught  up." 
St.  Paul  says,  "  We  who  are  alive  and  remain," 
in  distinction  from  "  the  dead  in  Christ."  * 
First,  those  who  have  fallen  asleep  will  be 
raised ;  then  those  who  have  not  slept  will  be 
changed.  So  shall  the  whole  Church  of  the 
saints  be  stirred  up  to  meet  the  King  of 
Glory. 

Also  the  theory  of  a  long  arrest  of  the  Lord's 
descent,  and  of  a  halt  in  mid-air  for  a  consider- 
able period,  is,  to  say  the  least,  unsupported  by 
the  Bible,  and  can  scarcely  be  thought  of  with 
seriousness.  To  say  that  the  saints  go  up  to 
meet  the  Lord,  as  the  wise  virgins  in  the  par- 
able went  forth   to  meet  the  bridegroom,   is 

*  1  Thess.  iv.  17. 


226  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

one  thing ;  to  say  that  He  will  stay  at  the 
point  at  which  they  meet  Him,  and,  suspend- 
ing His  progress,  dwell  with  them  in  a  kind 
of  aerial  city,  is  another  thing  altogether, 
and  one  for  which  we  find  no  ground  in  pro- 
phecy. 

But  the  strongest  objection  of  all  is  to  the 
notion  of  a  coming  of  Jesus  Christ  which,  at 
least  up  to  a  certain  point  and  for  a  certain 
period,  will  be  unnoticed  by  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  bringing  no  terror  to  the  ungodly, 
and  not  even  known  by  the  majority  of  pro- 
fessed Christians.  This  seems  to  us  to  be 
directly  at  variance  with  the  words  of  Christ 
and  His  apostles.  When  the  flash  of  light- 
ning across  the  open  sky  is  kept  secret  from 
the  eyes  of  men,  then,  and  not  till  then,  can 
we  believe  in  a  secret  advent  of  the  Lord ; 
and  when  the  thunder  which  follows  the  flash 
can  be  heard  by  some  men  only,  and  not  by 
others  who  stand  around  them,  then,  and  not 
till  then,  can  we  believe  in  mysterious  silence 
covering  an  event  which  is  to  be  announced 
by  "the  voice  of  the  archangel  and  the  trump 
of  God." 


LIGHTNING.  227 

Iii. fact,  this  is  one  of  the  plainest  things 
revealed  to  us  about  the  second  advent,  that 
it  will  be  bright  with  heavenly  glory  and 
universally  conspicuous.  There  are  other 
accompaniments  and  results  of  that  sublime 
event  which,  though  they  be  indicated  on  the 
prophetic  page,  it  is  difficult,  perhaps  impos- 
sible, for  us,  with  our  present  knowledge,  to 
arrange  in  the  order  in  which  they  will 
appear.  It  may  be  well  to  set  down  here 
some  thoughts  on  the  subject. 

The  disciples,  sitting  with  their  Master  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  put  to  Him  three  ques- 
tions in  a  breath  as  to  (1)  the  date  of  the  over- 
throw of  the  Temple;  (2)  that  of  His  own  second 
coming ;  and  (3)  that  of  the  end  of  the  world, 
or  consummation  of  the  age.*  They  assumed 
that  these  events  would  be  svnchronous,  or 
nearly  so.  Accordingly,  in  the  reply  of  Christ, 
as  reported  by  the  Evangelist,  no  notice  is 
taken  of  the  long  space  of  time  which,  as  we 
know,  intervenes  between  the  fall  of  Jerusalem 
and  its  Temple  and  the  consummation  of  the 
age,  as  we  understand  the  term  ;  but  the  Lord 

*  Ver.  3. 


228  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

indicated  that  for  both  of  those  catastrophes 
He  would  come. 

All  through  sacred  prophecy  we  find  examples 
of  this  method.  There  is  an  apparently  simul- 
taneous prevision  of  nearer  events  and  of  those 
greater  ultimate  issues  which  the  nearer  illus- 
trate and  forecast.  Two  or  more  future  bless- 
ings or  judgments  are  taken  together,  because 
the  less  prepares  for  the  greater,  or  the  proxi- 
mate suggests  and  guarantees  the  remote. 
And  as  when  one  has  in  perspective  the 
crests  of  a  mountain  range,  he  has  no  vision 
of  the  gaps  and  valleys  between,  so  the  pro- 
phetic eye  takes  no  note  of  intervals,  leaps  over 
centuries,  and  glances  quickly  from  one  future 
event  to  another,  provided  that  they  lie  in  the 
same  range  and  at  the  same  angle  of  vision. 
So  the  prophetic  language  grasps  the  near  and 
the  distant  together,  and  sometimes  applies  to 
the  near  and  the  smaller  event  expressions 
which  in  their  fulness  are  appropriate  only 
to  the  farther  and  the  greater.  Thus  in  the 
Psalter  it  is  not  easy  to  separate  the  language 
which  was  descriptive  of  the  prosperous  king- 
dom of  David  and  Solomon  from  that  which 


LIGHTNING.  229 

is  satisfied  only  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ ; 
and  in  the  books  of  the  prophets,  oracles 
•regarding  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  from 
their  captivity  in  Babylon  are  twined  together 
with  predictions  of  a  return  from  a  much 
longer  and  further  dispersion,  and  of  favour  to 
be  restored  to  Israel  in  the  latter  days.  After 
the  same  manner,  in  this  discourse  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  Jesus  Christ  brought  to- 
gether  a  nearer  and  a  farther  horizon  of  judg- 
ment, each  of  them  involving-  His  own  corning 
with  mighty  power. 

For  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
Temple,  as  of  old  time  for  the  arrest  of  the 
building  of  Babel,  the  Lord's  coming  down 
wTas  potential,  not  personal  and  visible.  The 
second  coming  proper  is  yet  to  be,  and  it  will 
be  visible  as  lightning,  and  personal,  because 
the  first  coming  was  so  and  the  ascension  was 
so,  and  the  angels  said  to  the  men  of  Galilee, 
"  This  Jesus,  who  has  been  received  up  from 
you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner 
as  ye  have  beheld  Him  going  to  heaven."  * 

The  results  of  the  Lord's  coming  are  vari- 

*  Acts  i.  11. 


230  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

ously  set  forth  in  New  Testament  prophecy, 
but  the  statements  may  be  grouped  under 
these  three  heads.     He  comes — 

i.  To  receive  the  Bride,  the  Church,  into 
His  glory. 

2.  To  receive  the  kingdom,  and  reign  with 
His  saints. 

3.  To  judge  the  world  in  righteousness. 
How  far  these  objects  may  be  simultaneous, 

or  whether  they  follow  each  other,  and  if  so, 
in  what  order  and  at  what  intervals  of  time, 
it  is  hard  to  tell,  and  impossible  to  decide 
with  certainty.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  what  is  a  day  with  the  Lord  may  be  a 
thousand  years,  and  the  day  of  His  coming, 
though  introduced  suddenly,  may  stretch  out 
into  a  long  age.  Then  some  of  the  events 
foretold  of  that  day  may  occur  in  the  morning, 
some  at  noon,  and  some  in  the  evening,  i.e., 
some  at  the  dawn,  some  in  the  middle,  and 
others  at  the  close  of  a  long  period  of  our 
Lord's  epiphany  in  power  and  great  glory. 

One  thing  is  very  sure,  if  we  have  rightly 
understood  the  metaphor  of  the  lightning. 
To  mockers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and 


LIGHTNING.  231 

asking,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  His  com- 
ing?" the  advent  of  our  Lord  will  bring  a 
dreadful  surprise ;  and  self-complacent  per- 
sons who  assure  themselves  of  peace  and 
safety  shall  find  that  sudden  destruction  has 
come  upon  them.  How  many  that  laugh  now 
shall  then  mourn  and  weep ! 


XXIY. 

VULTURES. 

"Wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  "  And  they  answering  say  unto 

there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered       him,  Where,  Lord?    And  he  said 
together." — St.  Matt.  xxiv.  28.  unto  them,  Where  the  body  is, 

thither  will  the  eagles  also  be 
gathered  together." — St.  Luke 
xvii.  37. 

The  Eevised  Version  retains  "  eagles"  in  the 
text,  but  puts  "vultures"  in  the  margin. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  reference  is  to 
those  yellow  vultures  and  carrion  kites  which 
abound  in  such  regions  as  Palestine,  and 
serve  a  good  purpose  in  clearing  away  putrid 
carcases.  Dogs  are  the  scavengers  of  the 
towns,  vultures,  kites,  and  ravens  of  the 
country ;  and  these  have  not  to  wait,  the 
orders  of  sanitary  inspectors,  but  of  themselves 
promptly  and  unerringly  find  their  proper- 
prey,    and   remove   offensive    matter   with   a 


VULTURES.  233 

thoroughness  which  no  human  arrangements 
could  ensure. 

Mention  of  such  creatures  may  not  please 
a  fastidious  taste ;  but  our  Lord  saw  it  need- 
ful to  speak  of  judgment  as  well  as  of  mercy, 
and  of  the  sweeping  away  of  what  is  morally 
offensive  as  well  as  of  the  encouragement  of 
all  that  is  morally  sweet  and  beautiful.  For 
this  end  He  chose  the  metaphor  that  best 
suited  His  theme.  He  referred  His  hearers 
to  that  which  they  must  have  often  seen 
— the  gathering  of  birds  of  prey  from  all 
quarters  to  fasten  on  a  carcase  lying  exposed 
on  some  hillside  or  in  some  valley  of  Judea 
or  Galilee. 

The  same  figure  is  employed  by  two  of  the 
ancient  prophets,*  and  in  the  Book  of  Eeve- 
lation.t  And  all  the  passages  in  which  it 
occurs  have  reference  to  an  era  of  comino- 
judgment  and  a  stern  victory  over  the  ene- 
mies of  the  Lord.  Not  giving  due  considera- 
tion to  the  parallel  passages,  many  interpreters 
have  gone  wonderfully  astray  in  regard  to  our 
Saviour's  meaning  in  the  use  of  this  metaphor. 

*  Hab.  i.  8  ;  Ezek.  xxxix.  17-20.  +  Rev.  xix.  17,  18. 


234  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

They  have  supposed  that  the  body  referred  to 
is  that  of  Christ  Himself,  slain  for  us,  and 
that  "the  eagdes"  denote  the  believers  who 
gather  together  and  feed  on  the  holy  sacrifice. 
It  is  astonishing  to  find  even  Calvin,  that 
most  judicious  commentator,  adopting  an  in- 
terpretation so  unnatural,  and  so  painful  to 
every  feeling  of  revere  nee.  * 

The  true  meaning  is  not  hard  to  be  found 
if  we  keep  in  view  two  guiding  considerations : 
(i.)  That  this  saying  occurs  in  a  prophecy 
of  tribulation  and  judgment;  and  (2.)  That 
the  vulture  is  emphatically  a  bird  of  prey, 
and  suggests  havoc  and  death. 

We  find  in  our  Lord's  reference  to  the 
vultures — 

I.  A  strong  hint  or  presage  of  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  before  the  Romans. 

This  was  the  primary,  though  by  no  means 
the  only,  subject  treated  of  in  the  Lord's  dis- 
course. 

*  The  good  sense  of  Calvin,  however,  revolted  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  previous  commentators,  that  the  odour  of  the 
decaying  carcase  attracting  the  foul  birds  represented  the 
attraction  which  the  death  of  Christ  has  for  the  elect.     He 


VULTURES.  235 

Before  the  tribes  entered  the  land  of  pro- 
mise, Moses  warned  them  that  if  they  should 
prove  disobedient  to  Jehovah  He  would  bring 
against  them  a  nation  from  far  "as  an  eagle 
flieth."  *  The  prophet  Habakkuk  foresaw  the 
fulfilment  of  this  menace  in  the  invasion  of 
the  land  and  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  armies 
from  Babylon ;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  he  used 
the  same  fisrure  to  describe  what  he  foresaw. 
It  was  as  though  vultures  fastened  on  the 
spiritless  God-forsaken  city  and  laid  it  waste. 
But  in  the  days  of  the  gospel  a  greater  and 
more  terrible  woe  was  drawing  uio-h.  The 
Lord  Jesus  saw  it  with  clear  though  saddened 
eyes,  and  warned  His  disciples  that  the  city 
which  was  about  to  reject  and  crucify  Him 
would  wax  worse  and  worse,  and  become  a 
mere  carcase  for  vultures  from  afar.  Its 
Temple  would  be  desolate ;  its  citizens  would 
be  torn  by  the  spirit  of  faction  and  hatred. 
What  had  been  reckoned  a  holy  city  would 

gave  the  idea  another  turn,  and  made  the  best  of  it  thus  : — 
"  Si  tanta  est  in  avibus  sagacitas,  ut  ex  remotis  locis  ad  cadaver 
unum  multae  conveniant,  turpe  esse  fidelibus,  non  aggregari 
ad  vitae  Auctorem,  quo  solo  vere  pascuntur." 
*  Deut.  xxviii.  49. 


236  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

become  a  mere  quarry  for  birds  of  prey.  Lo ! 
the  Roman  armies,  bearing  eagles  on  their 
standards,  hastening  from  afar,  and  swooping 
down  on  that  wicked  and  infatuated  Jeru- 
salem. The  Hebrew  Christians,  who  had 
spiritual  life  in  them,  were  forewarned  by  the 
Saviour's  words,  and  escaped  from  the  city 
before  it  was  closely  invested.  Without  them 
Jerusalem  was  dead  and  corrupt ;  so  the 
Roman  eagles  got  the  carcase. 

II.  An  indication  of  wider  and  sorer  judg- 
ments at  the  last  day. 

Prior  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  is  to 
be  a  period  of  tribulation  and  of  abounding 
iniquity.  We  gather  from  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation *  that  the  nations  will  be  misled  by 
the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet,  i.e.,  by  un- 
hallowed strength  and  unhallowed  wisdom, 
and  make  war  against  Him  who  sits  on  the 
heavenly  throne.  Then  shall  those  nations 
be  judged  and  overthrown  by  the  King  of 
Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords ;  and  while  the 
Beast  and  False  'Prophet  shall  be  cast   into 

*  Chap.  xix. 


VULTURES.  237 

a  fiery  lake,  never  to  rise  again,  the  carcases 
of  the  slain  are  described  as  exposed  to  the 
birds  of  prey  on  the  great  battlefield,  and 
"  all  the  birds  are  filled  with  their  flesh." 

It  is  only  a  childish  adherence  to  the  letter, 
or  a  dense  incapacity  to  read  off  figures  of 
speech,  that  can  take  this  vision  of  the  seer 
to  mean  a  battle  with  carnal  weapons,  and  a 
flight  of  horrid  vultures  to  batten  on  corpses 
lying  unburied  in  the  open  field.  Moral  con- 
flicts, no  doubt,  have  embodied  themselves  in 
actual  martial  strife,  and  may  do  so  again ; 
but  that  on  which  attention  should  be  fixed 
is  the  awful  fact  of  a  vast  combined  opposi- 
tion to  the  swav  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  certainty  that  this  will  involve  the 
nations  in  sore  punishment.  Judgments,  like 
the  vultures,  will  rush  from  all  quarters,  and 
swoop  down  on  the  carcase  of  ungodly  Anti- 
christian  society.  There  is  a  long  time  of 
patience,  but  it  has  its  limit,  and  in  the  end 
the  tares  must  be  gathered  in  bundles  and 
burnt,  the  carcase  must  be  given  up  to  the 
vultures. 

Those  birds  do  not  touch  the  living.     The 


238  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

Christians  were  unhurt  when  Jerusalem  fell. 
And  so  on  the  larger  scale  the  hour  of  judg- 
ment to  the  adversaries  of  Christ  will  be  not 
only  a  time  of  safety,  but  the  very  epoch  of 
triumphant  deliverance  to  His  faithful  follow- 
ers. The  signs  of  the  end  are  to  them  tokens 
of  redemption  drawing  nigh. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  Christian  so- 
ciety or  visible  Church  of  the  period  will  have 
nothing  to  fear.  In  so  far  as  it  may  be  found 
torn  into  factions  and  distracted  like  ancient 
Jerusalem  in  its  last  days,  it  cannot  go  un- 
punished. Only  the  living  and  the  loving 
can  be  found  of  the  Lord  in  peace  at  His 
appearing.  For  all  others,  even  though  they 
have  had  "  a  name  to  live,"  it  will  be  a  day 
of  wrath.  And  no  matter  what  the  body  has 
been,  if  it  be  a  carcase,  there  will  the  vultures 
be  gathered  together. 

III.  A  reminder  that  our  God  is  a  God  of 
judgment,  and  yet  none  the  less  a  God  of  love. 

In  nature  He  has  made  the  ravenous  beasts 
and  birds,  as  well  as  those  which  are  gentle 
and  harmless.     If  the  turtle-dove  be  His  crea- 


VULTURES.  239 

ture,  so  also  is  the  raven,  the  hawk,  or  the 
vulture.  If  the  lamb  or  the  gazelle  be  His,  so 
also  are  the  wolf  and  the  hyena.  Nature  has 
room  and  need  for  both  mildness  and  severity. 
So  has  the  government  of  the  world.  It  re- 
quires and  calls  forth  not  merely  the  goodness 
and  patience  of  the  Supreme  Euler,  but  also 
His  retributive  justice,  doing  terrible  things  in 
righteousness.  "It  is  written,  Vengeance  be- 
longeth  unto  Me  ;  I  will  recompense,  saith  the 
Lord."  *  There  is  no  need  to  assume  an  apolo- 
getic tone  on  this  view  of  the  Divine  character 
and  procedure.  It  is  worthy  of  God  so  to 
mark  His  displeasure  with  corruptions  of  faith 
and  life,  and  prevent  the  triumph  of  iniquity. 
In  all  His  severity  God  is  love.  That  He  has 
made  birds  of  keen  scent  and  piercing  sight  to 
fasten  on  carcases  and  remove  decaying  flesh 
is  surely  a  proof  of  His  care  for  the  sweetness 
of  the  air  and  the  health  of  living  creatures. 
Vultures  are  not  attractive — they  are  hideous  ; 
but  they  do  a  service  which  birds  of  fair 
aspect  and  delicate  appetite  could  not  render ; 
their  agency  is  for  good. 

*  Roman-;  xii.  19. 


2 jo  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

So  there  are  calamities  which  are  described 
as  judgments  of  God  falling  on  individuals 
and  on  communities  during  the  present  time 
of  proof  and  discipline,  and  these  will  increase 
on  the  earth  in  the  last  days ;  but  they  must 
not  be  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  the 
goodness  and  loving  -  kindness  of  God.  If 
He  cared  not  for  mankind,  He  would  let  their 
transgressions  pass  with  impunity,  and  let  all 
flesh  go  on  unchecked  to  "corrupt  their  way 
before  Him;"  so  would  men  infect  one  another 
with  moral  plagues,  and  the  race  would  destroy 
itself  by  accumulating  vice  and  violence.  But 
God  loves  the  world,  and  therefore  He  judges, 
and  will  judge  it,  in  righteousness. 

That  it  is  more  congenial  to  the  Divine 
feeling  to  show  mercy,  who  can  doubt  ?  The 
Lord  has  sworn  by  His  own  life  that  He  has 
no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  sinners  ;  and  His 
lon^-suffering-  toward  individuals  and  nations 
that  proudly  trespass  against  Him  shows  how 
reluctant  He  is  to  smite  and  to  consume. 
But  if  men  will  persist  in  choosing  death 
rather  than  life,  they  must  surely  die.  If 
nations  will  not  serve  God  and  righteousness, 


VULTURES.  241 

they  must  come  to  nought.  Justice  requires, 
and  even  mercy  dictates,  that  the  eagles  or 
vultures,  far-sighted  and  strong-winged,  be 
let  loose  upon  the  carcase.  If  not,  the  moral 
atmosphere  would  become  heavy  with  corrup- 
tion, and  a  plague  would  spread  from  which 
hardly  any  could  escape. 

The  severity  of  God  is  not  the  opposite 
of  His  goodness,  but  its  ally.  It  is  He  whose 
name  is  "Jehovah  God,  merciful  and  gracious," 
who  "will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty." 
It  is  He  who  has  revealed  His  righteousness 
in  the  gospel  for  the  salvation  of  sinners  who 
has  also  revealed  "  wrath  against  all  ungodli- 
ness and  unrighteousness  of  men." 

We  anticipate  no  good  result  from  the  pre- 
sent-day tendency  to  avoid  or  soften  state- 
ments of  God's  impending  judgment.  "We 
trace  its  influence  in  superficial  views  of  the 
guilt  of  sin  and  a  feeble  grasp  of  the  great 
fact  and  doctrine  of  Atonement.  Thinking 
apparently,  to  make  the  gospel  more  credible 
and  acceptable  by  dwelling  solely  on  the 
parental  love  of  God,  many  teachers  are 
destroying    the   very  foundations  of  the  gos- 


242  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

pel,  and  sapping  or  weakening  in  the  con- 
sciences of  men  anything  like  a  serious  con- 
viction of  their  need  of  '"'so  great  salva- 
tion." We  do  not  wish  to  revel  in  terrors ; 
but  it  is  cowardice,  not  charity,  to  know  that 
they  approach,  and  not  sound  an  alarm.  St. 
Paul  is  charitable  enough  for  us ;  and  he 
writes  of  "  wrath  and  indignation,  tribulation 
and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man  that 
worketh  evil."  * 

*  Romans  ii.  9. 


(     243     ) 


XXV. 


HOUSE-SERVANTS. 


' '  Watch  therefore  :  for  ye 
know  not  on  what  day  your 
Lord  cometh.  But  know  this, 
that  if  the  master  of  the  house 
had  known  in  what  watch  the 
thief  was  coming,  he  would  have 
watched,  and  would  not  have 
suffered  his  house  to  be  broken 
through.  Therefore  be  ye  also 
ready  :  for  in  an  hour  that  ye 
think  not  the  Son  of  Man  cometh. 
Who  then  is  the  faithful  and 
wise  servant,  whom  his  lord  hath 
set  over  his  household,  to  give 
them  their  food  in  due  season  ? 
Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom 
his  lord  when  he  cometh  shall 
find  so  doing.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  that  he  will  set  him  over 
all  that  he  hath.  But  if  that 
evil  servant  shall  say  in  his 
heart,  My  lord  tarrieth ;  and 
shall  begin  to  beat  his  fellow- 
servants,  and  shall  eat  and  drink 
with  the  drunken ;  the  lord  of 
that  servant  shall  come  in  a 
day  when  he  expecteth  not,  and 
in  an  hour  when  he  knoweth 
not,  and  shall  cut  him  asunder, 


"  Watch  therefore  :  for  ye 
know  not  when  the  lord  of  the 
house  cometh,  whether  at  even, 
or  at  midnight,  or  at  cockcrow - 
ing,  or  in  the  morning ;  lest 
coming  suddenly  he  find  you 
sleeping.  And  what  I  say  unto 
you  I  say  unto  all,  Watch." — 
St.  Mark  xiii.  35-37. 


244  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  appoint  his  portion  with 
the  hypocrites :  there  shall  be 
the  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth."— St.  Matt.  xxiv.  42-51. 

The  ancients  divided  the  night  into  equal 
periods,  called  watches,  as  marking  the  time 
during  which  a  sentinel  might  be  kept  on  duty, 
and  at  the  end  of  which  he  ought  to  be  relieved. 
Originally  the  Jews  made  three  watches  of 
four  hours  each,  but  afterwards  adopted  the 
Eoman  system  of  four  watches  of  three  hours 
each.  This  arrangement  of  time  passed  into 
popular  language  in  Judea  and  Galilee.  It 
was  usual  to  speak  of  the  watches  of  the 
night,  even  though  no  guard  or  sentry  stood 
awake.  We  ourselves  speak  of  an  instrument 
for  measuring  time  as  a  watch ;  and  when 
one  is  awake  to  the  lapse  of  time  and  has 
his  faculties  on  the  alert,  we  say  that  he 
watches  or  is  on  the  watch. 

The  Lord  Jesus  compared  Himself  to  the 
master  of  a  house  who  should  go  on  a  jour- 
ney, and  return  at  an  uncertain  hour  of  the 
night  or  the  morning.  It  would  be  the  duty 
of  the  servants  'in  such  a  house  to  watch 
for   their   master's    coming.     Now,    whatever 


HOUSE-SERVANTS.  245 

was  the  impression  011  the  minds  of  the 
apostles  regarding  the  proximity  of  the  Lord's 
return,  His  own  prescient  eye  beheld  a  long 
stretch  of  time  to  elapse  before  His  second 
advent,  involving  serious  dangers  of  de- 
generacy,  self-indulgence,  and  unseemly  dis- 
putes '  among  successive  generations  of  His 
servants.  Therefore  He  charged  His  disciples 
to  watch.  He  enjoined  and  re-enjoined  this, 
and  the  charge  is  repeated  and  urged  by  His 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  evidently  as  one 
which  there  would  be  a  strong  tendency  to 
overlook  or  forget. 

To  watch  in  view  of  the  comino;  of  Christ 
is  a  comprehensive  direction  for  an  alert, 
well  -  braced,  and  well  -  employed  Christian 
life.  It  means  not  a  feverish  expectation  of 
one  all-absorbing  event,  but  calm  and  con- 
sistent adherence  to  the  line  of  ascertained 
duty  with  a  steady  resistance  to  temptation, 
and  all  this  actuated  by  the  consideration 
that  the  Lord  is  at  hand,  and  by  the  desire 
to  be  accepted  and  approved  by  Him  at  His 
glorious  appearing. 

In    St.    Matthew's    report    of    our    Lord's 


246  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

sayings  the  illustration  from  a  householder  is 
put  in  two  ways  : — 

i.  In  the  first  instance  (vers.  42-44),  the 
householder  is  supposed  to  have  gone  to  rest 
in  security ;  but  awaking,  finds  a  robber  in 
the  house,  or  perhaps  only  sees  the  hole  in 
the  earthen  wall  through  which  the  robber 
has  escaped  with  his  plunder.  This  is  to 
illustrate  the  one  point  of  the  unexpectedness 
of  the  second  advent.  Not  that  even  this 
point  should  be  taken  quite  absolutely  and 
universally.  Vigilant  spiritual  minds  will 
perceive  signs  of  the  nearness  of  the  Son  of 
Man  ;  but  the  world  at  large,  even  Chris- 
tendom itself,  will  be  taken  by  surprise.  The 
suoro-estion  of  the  thief  in  the  ni^ht  is  not  a 
pleasant  one,  but  it  is  very  telling  for  the 
point  intended.  No  one  who  has  had  his 
house  robbed  at  night  can  forget  the  amaze- 
ment and  chagrin  with  which  he  found  in 
the  morning  that  thieves  had  entered  and 
escaped  again  while  he  slept.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  there  can  be  no  intention  here 
or  in  similar  passages  in  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation #    to    liken    any    movement    of    the 

*  Chaps,  iii.  3  ;  xvi.  15. 


HOUSE-SERVANTS.  247 

Saviour  to  that  of  a  wicked  prowler  in  the 
night,  save  in  the  one  point  indicated.  As 
St.  Peter  has  it,  "  The  day  of  the  Lord 
shall  so  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night."  It  is 
approaching  with  muffled  footsteps ;  it  will 
be  upon  us  while  men  sleep. 

2.  In  the  second  form  of  the  illustration 
(vers.  45-57)  the  householder  has  gone  to 
a  distant  country,  promising  to  return  to  his 
house,  but  not  letting  the  steward  or  the  ser- 
vants  know  at  what  time  he  will  arrive.  It  is 
for  them  to  mind  their  work  as  though  he 

o 

were  present,  and  to  have  everything  in 
readiness  for  his  return.  In  this  case,  the 
householder  evidently  represents  Jesus  Christ. 
The  departure  to  a  far  country  is  His  ascen- 
sion to  heaven.  The  return  at  an  unknown 
hour  is  His  second  coming  at  an  unknown 
date. 

Emphasis  is  laid,  according  to  St.  Matthew, 
on  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  the  steward; 
according  to  St.  Mark,  on  the  charge  given  to 
the  porter  at  the  gate.  Such  upper  servants 
suggest  the  apostolate,  and  subsequently  all 
authoritative   and   influential  ministration  in 


248  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

the  Church.  The  ordinary  servants  represent 
Christian  people  at  large ;  and  it  is  signifi- 
cant of  the  duty  which  our  Lord  expects 
every  Christian  to  discharge  that  this  house- 
holder gave  to  each  of  the  servants  "  his 
work."  Not  every  one  is  to  manage,  not 
every  one  to  take  the  lead,  not  every  one  to 
keep  the  gate ;  but  every  one  has  his  own 
place  to  fill  and  his  own  function  to  discharge 
for  the  absent  Master. 

The  householder  returns  unannounced. 
How  does  he  find  the  household ?  Is  the 
mansion  in  order  ?  Is  the  prescribed  work 
done  ?  Do  the  servants  stand  with  girt  loins 
and  lamps  lit,  while  the  porter  opens  the  gate 
immediately  ?  Or  is  the  house  a  scene  of  riot 
and  quarrel  %  Is  the  steward  the  foremost  in 
gluttony  and  drunkenness  ?  Is  the  porter 
asleep  ?  Have  the  servants  forgotten  their 
Master  and  neglected  their  work  ? 

Such  are  the  questions  which  ought  to 
press  on  the  Christian  conscience  during  these 
long  years  of  the*  Saviour's  withdrawal  to 
heaven.  We  do  not  like  to  say  His  absence, 
because  in  the  Spirit  He  is  with  us  always. 


HO  USE-SER  VA  NTS.  249 

But  what  is  the  effect  of  His  unseenness  and 
of  the  apparent  delay  of  His  coming  on  the 
officers  of  His  Church  and  on  Christian 
society  at  large?  How  would  His  servants 
be  found  if  Christ  should  come  before  the 
cock  crow  to-morrow  mornino-  ? 

On  this,  as  on  most  practical  subjects,  there 
are  opposite  extremes,  between  which  the  safe 
path  lies. 

i.  There  is  an  excess  of  feverish  expecta- 
tion. In  some  of  those  who  love  the  Lord, 
and  therefore  love  His  appearing,  there 
is  a  nervous,  over-excited  feeling  about  His 
advent.  They  are  always  occupied  with 
what  they  take  for  a  demonstration  that 
the  day  of  the  Lord  is  actually  at  hand. 
Accordingly,  they  excuse  themselves  from 
attempting  any  arduous  task  or  working 
towards  any  great  practical  reform,  or  even 
trying  to  bring  the  visible  Church  of  God 
to  any  better  order  aud  harmony,  on  the 
ground  that  the  Lord  Himself  is  very  near, 
and  will  set  all  things  in  order  at  His 
coming  and  His  kingdom.  So  the  Thessa- 
lonians  were  in  a  feverish  mood  about   the 


250  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

advent  till  the  Apostle  Paul  wrote  and 
charged  them  not  to  be  shaken  or  troubled. 
So  at  various  dates  Christendom  has  been 
agitated  and  injured  by  illusive  expectations. 
At  such  times  it  is  as  though  the  servants  of 
the  absent  householder  laid  down  their  un- 
finished tasks  and  spent  all  their  time  looking 
out  of  the  windows,  because  they  felt  sure 
that  the  master  might  be  expected  at  any 
moment.  But  what  the  householder  required 
of  them,  and  what  Jesus  Christ  requires  of 
His  people,  is  that  they  work  patiently, 
cheering  their  hearts  at  work  by  the  hope 
of  His  return,  so  that  they  may  be  found 
ready  for  any  further  service  or  higher 
trust  which  He  may  assign  to  them  at  His 
coming. 

2.  The  other  extreme  is  more  common. 
The  lapse  of  time  enfeebles  the  devotion  to 
Christ  which  marked  the  primitive  Church, 
and  relaxes  the  sense  of  duty.  So  the  house, 
which  ought  to  have  been  one  of  well-refi-u- 
lated  activity  and  mutual  kindness,  has  too 
often  presented  a  spectacle  of  neglected  duties, 
bitter  quarrels,  and  raging  controversies.    Some 


HOUSE-SERVANTS.  251 

servants  are  stupefied  with  self-indulgence, 
and  some  are  overcharged  with  cares  of  this 
life.  These  are  neither  working  the  works  of 
God  nor  watching  unto  prayer.  Some  take  to 
beating  or  persecuting  others.  At  one  time 
this  was  done  with  fire  and  sword,  prison  and 
torture.  Nowadays  it  is  done  chiefly  by  the 
tongue  and  the  pen  and  printing-press.  The 
inward  temper  of  hatred  and  intolerance  is  the 
same.  Is  this  a  scene  on  wThich  one  would 
like  the  Lord  to  descend,  fixing  His  eyes  as  a 
flame  of  fire  on  such  wicked  servants  ?  The 
severe  language  in  whicli  Jesus  indicated  the 
punishment  which  servants  so  misconducting 
themselves  would  receive  from  the  householder, 
their  master,  ought  to  give  pause  to  every 
one  who  calls  Him  Lord  and  Master,  and  so 
professes  to  be  His  servant.  Woe  to  the  in- 
tolerant and  arrogant,  and  woe  to  the  indolent 
and  self-pampering  Christians  (most  of  all,  to 
such  officers  of  the  Church)  in  that  day  ! 

The  middle  course  is  not  a  compromise,  but 
a  proper  adjustment  of  the  duties  of  waiting 
and  working.  He  waits  and  watches  best  who 
works  most  diligently  on  the  task  which  has 


252  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

been  assigned  to  him.  And  for  both  watch- 
ing and  working  he  must  avoid  pampering  of 
the  flesh,  burdens  of  worldly  care,  and  all 
unseemly  quarrels  with  his  fellow-servants  in 
the  household  of  God. 

It  is  the  Old  Testament  which  bids  men 
work  in  view  of  death  and  "  the  grave  whither 
thou  goest."  *  The  New  Testament  bids  Chris- 
tian men  serve  in  view  not  of  death  and  the 
grave  so  much  as  of  their  Master's  return. 
Some  say  that  practically  this  comes  to  the 
same  thing.  We  think  not.  The  expecta- 
tion of  Christ's  coming  and  our  gathering  to- 
gether to  Him  includes  within  it  all  that  is 
useful  in  the  expectation  of  death,  and  at  the 
same  time  throws  far  more  zest  into  our  ser- 
vice and  more  brightness  into  our  spirits. 
True,  that  many  who  lived  and  desired  the 
Lord's  appearing  have  not  seen  it,  but  have 
ended  their  course  by  dying.  Many  may  still 
do  so  before  He  actually  descends  from  heaven. 
The  time  is  appointed  by  the  Father,  and  not 
disclosed  to  any  creature.  But  if  it  be  ap- 
pointed to  us  of  tins  generation  to  die,  as  our 

Eccles.  ix.  10. 


HOUSE-SERVANTS.  253 

fathers  have  done,  we  have  made  no  mistake : 
our  waiting  for  the  Lord  is  our  best  prepara- 
tion for  death.  We  wait  in  diligent  service, 
in  sober  living,  in  brotherly  kindness,  and  in 
prayer.  What  else,  what  more,  should  there 
be  in  order  to  meet  death  with  safety  and 
serenity  ? 

An  impression  is  abroad  that  if  one  only 
knew  that  death  was  near,  lie  would  and 
should  wind  up  his  affairs,  see  his  lawyer, 
then  his  minister,  read  the  Bible  and  good 
books,  and  resign  himself  to  the  inevitable  ; 
nay,  even  try  to  attune  himself  in  some  degree 
for  a  quite  new  life  in  heaven.  But  a  wise 
Christian  man  should  need  no  such  special 
ado  about  dying.  As  to  his  affairs,  he  should 
have  them  so  arranged  that  if  any  sudden 
stroke  of  death  should  remove  him,  no  injury 
that  he  might  have  prevented  shall  befall 
others.  Besides  this,  there  is  nothing  to  do 
but  go  on  steadily  with  whatever  work  the 
Master  has  committed  to  him,  and  so  abide 
in  his  calling,  praying  always — not  "  Come, 
0  death!"  or  "Stay  away  ! "  but  "Come,  Lord 
Jesus ! "     So  will  the  heart   be  prepared  for 


254  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

either  the  smaller  event  or  the  greater ;  and 
fear  of  death  will  be  swallowed  up  in  the  hope 
of  glory. 

Two  brief  directions  should  be  written  on 
every  Christian  conscience  —  Watch  and  be 
sober ;  Watch  and  pray. 

Watch  and  be  sober !  Not  only  abhor  sur- 
feiting and  drunkenness,  but  beware  of  keen 
ambition,  exorbitant  desire,  and  all  excessive 
worldly  anxiety.  We  may  not  judge  men 
absolutely  by  outward  appearance,  for  an  in- 
herited peculiarity  of  constitution  sometimes 
gives  to  a  quite  innocent  person  the  aspect 
of  a  glutton  or  a  wine-bibber ;  but,  allowance 
being  made  for  such  exceptional  cases,  it  does 
pain  us  to  see  men  who  profess  and  call  them- 
selves Christians  bearing  on  their  figures  and 

o  o 

countenances  the  marks  of  such  indulgence  of 
appetite  as  stupefies  the  soul,  or  carrying  about 
a  careworn  face  that  tells  of  the  unsatisfied 
thirst  for  uncertain  riches. 

Watch  and  pray  !  So  said  the  Lord  to  the 
disciples  who  slumbered  in  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane  ;  and » He  added  the  significant 
words,  "  That  ye  enter  not  into  temptation." 


HOUSE-SERVANTS.  255 

Simon  Peter,  who  was  one  of  those  disciples, 
combined  the  two  counsels  thus — "  The  end 
of  all  things  is  at  hand  :  be  ye  therefore  sober, 
and  watch  unto  prayer."  * 

We  do  not  dilate  here  on  the  deep  sleep  in 
which  the  world  is  sunk,  its  indifference  to 
spiritual  truth,  and  absolute  sluggishness ,  of 
thought  and  feeling  regarding  God  and  the 
things  of  God.  We  lament  the  spirit  of 
slumber  in  the  Church.  Alas !  it  is  so  easy 
to  grow  lethargic  in  Christian  feeling  and 
service ;  and  this  is  a  peril  which  haunts 
advanced  Christians  as  well  as  those  who  are 
only  beginners.  Christian  and  Hopeful  in 
the  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  were  far  advanced 
before  they  reached  the  Enchanted  Ground, 
i.e.,  passed  through  a  temptation  to  inglorious 
ease.  Then  Hopeful  felt  so  drowsy  that  he 
could  scarcely  keep  his  eyes  open,  and  besought 
Christian  to  lie  down.  "  We  may  be  re- 
freshed," he  said,  "  if  we  take  a  nap."  But 
the  other  reminded  him  how  the  shepherds 
had  warned  them  of  this  enchanted  ground, 
and  also  hinted  that  what  might  be  intended 

*  1  Peter  iv.  7. 


256  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

only  to  be  a  nap  might  prove  a  sleep  of  death. 
In  the  second  part  of  the  Allegory  we  see  two 
men  who  had  lain  down  to  sleep  for  a  little 
time  in  an  arbour  on  that  ground,  but  could 
never  be  waked  again.  The  name  of  the  one 
was  Heedless ;  that  of  the  other  Too  Bold. 


(     257    ) 


XXVI. 

THE    TEMPLE. 

"Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in 
three  days  I  will  raise  it  up.  The  Jews  therefore  said,  Forty  and  six 
years  was  this  temple  in  building,  and  wilt  thou  raise  it  up  in  three 
days?  But  He  spake  of  the  temple  of  His  body.  "When  therefore 
He  was  raised  from  the  dead,  His  disciples  remembered  that  He  spake 
this ;  and  they  believed  the  scripture,  and  the  word  which  Jesus  had 
said." — St.  John  ii.  19-22. 

This  metaphor  was  not  dragged  into  the 
conversation,  but  was  taken,  according  to  our 
Lord's  manner,  from  the  incident  and  topic  of 
the  hour.  Ever)T  one  was  astonished  at  the 
zeal  and  authority  with  which  He  had  driven 
a  sordid  traffic  from  the  courts  of  the  temple. 
So  He  seized  the  opportunity  to  weave  a 
deeper  meaning  into  familiar  words,  and  show 
the  temple  to  be  a  figure  of  something  greater 
and  more  sacred  than  itself. 

While  He  used  a  metaphor,  He  at  the  same 
time  put  forth  an   enigma.     It   was  not   in- 


258  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

frequent  with  Him  to  do  so,  for  in  this  way- 
He  was  able  to  cast  a  shadow  for  a  time  over 
truths,  a  full  disclosure  of  which  might  have 
altered  the  conduct  of  the  Jews  towards  Him 
and  hindered  the  fulfilment  of  His  mission. 
In   the  instance  now  before  us  He  put  His 
thought  in  a  form  that  puzzled  His  hearers 
and  excited  after-thought.    It  was  inexplicable 
to    His  own  disciples  till  He  had  died  and 
risen  from  the  grave.     To  the  rulers  of  the 
Jews  His  saying  seemed  to  be  a  profanity. 
Destroy  that  magnificent  building,  on  which 
the   great   Herod   had   lavished    wealth    and 
splendour,    and   in   which  the  God   of   their 
fathers  dwelt !     And  raise  up   in  three  days 
what  had  occupied  skilled  workmen  for  forty- 
six  years !     What   good  man   could  propose 
such  a  destruction?     What  sane  man  could 
promise   such   a   restoration  ?     At   the   same 
time  they  could  not  shake  off  the  saying  as 
an  absurdity  or  impossibility.     It  lay  in  their 
memory,  and,  as  their  malignity  towards  the 
Saviour   increased,    it   was    preserved   as   an 
expression   which    might   help   to  support   a 
deadly  accusation  against  Him.     Accordingly 


THE  TEMPLE.  259 

we  find  it  misquoted  against  Him  in  the  high 
priest's  palace,  and,  in  the  same  inaccurate 
version  of  it,  hurled  at  Him  while  He  hung 
upon  the  cross.* 

The  Evangelist  ogives  the  clue  to  the 
Saviour's  meaning.  "  He  spake  of  the  temple 
of  His  body." 

There  was  more  than  metaphor  here,  or 
metaphor  tipped  with  enigma;  there  was 
typical  correspondence.  The  tabernacle  in  the 
wilderness  and  the  successive  temples  in 
Jerusalem  were  divinely  appointed  signs,  and, 
in  theological  phrase,  types  of  an  incarnate 
manifestation  of  God.  If  He  deigned  to  dwell 
in  a  tent  or  a  house  of  man's  building,  it 
was  simply  a  condescension  to  the  unreadiness 
of  His  people  for  a  more  spiritual  conception 
of  His  presence,  and  a  significant  preparation 
for  a  time  of  more  advanced  privilege,  when 
the  Word  which  was  God  would  become  flesh 
and  "  tabernacle  among  men." 

That  Jesus  Christ  knew  and  proclaimed 
Himself  to  be  the  antitype  to  the  temple 
reveals  His   consciousness  of  the   fulness   of 

*  St.  Matt.  xxvi.  60,  61  ;  St.  Mark  xiv.  57,  58,  xv.  29,  30. 


260  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

the  Godhead  dwelling  in  Him  bodily.  *  God 
was  in  Him  in  a  sense  above  that  in  which 
He  may  be  said  to  dwell  in  and  reveal  Himself 
through  all  good  and  holy  men ;  for  He  was 
in  Christ  by  the  mystery  of  the  incarnation 
and  the  hypostatical  union  of  the  Divine 
nature  with  the  human  in  one  person.  And 
the  temple  which  God  thus  provided  was 
by  Him  also  consecrated ;  for  Jesus  was 
anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
power. 

Now  the  Lord  foresaw  clearly  that  the  Jews 
would  destroy  this  temple.  They  who  boasted 
so  much  of  a  temple  made  with  hands,  as 
though  it  could  contain  the  High  and  Holy 
One,  were  soon  to  reject,  and,  so  far  as  their 
power  went,  to  rend  and  destroy  the  temple  of 
His  body,  which  was  the  true  meeting-place 
with  God.  He  was  prepared  for  a  violent 
death,  and  was  reconciled  to  it,  nay,  longed 
to  have  it  accomplished,  because  it  would  lead 
to  a  glorious  restoration.  As  He  stood  and 
taught  anions;  the  Jews,  confined  to  a  small 

*  Deity  in  bodily  manifestation.  See  Bishop  Lightfoot's 
comment  on  Coloss.  ii.  9. 


THE  TEMPLE.  261 

spot  of  the  earth  and  subject  to  many  limita- 
tions of  outward  condition,  He  could  not  call 
to  Himself  all  nations.  The  temple  of  His 
body  must  needs  be  destroyed  in  order  to  be 
rebuilt  on  a  scale  more  glorious.  In  other 
words,  He  must  be  crucified  in  weakness  in 
order  to  be  raised  in  power. 

The  words  "  I  will  raise  it  again "  are  in 
two  respects  significant  —  (1.)  As  to  the 
identity  of  the  body  in  which  Christ  rose 
with  that  in  which  He  suffered.  No  doubt  the 
transformation  was  great.  The  conditions  of 
an  incorruptible  body  are  not  known  to  us ; 
but  they  must  be  very  different  from  those 
of  ordinary  flesh  and  blood.  We  cannot  tell 
how  far  it  is  ponderable,  what  are  its  laws  of 
motion,  or  whether  it  is  liable  to  waste,  and 
if  so,  how  the  waste  is  repaired.  But,  as  our 
Lord  said  of  the  body  in  which  He  stood 
before  the  Jews,  that  He  would  raise  it  again, 
there  must  be  a  link  of  continuity  and  identity 
between  the  mortal  body  and  the  immortal. 
And  if  there  is  such  a  link  in  the  case  of  Christ, 
so  also  will  there  be  in  the  case  of  all  the  saints, 
wrho  are  to  have  their  bodies  made  like  to  His 


262  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

at  the  resurrection.  They  will  be  the  same 
bodies  as  slept  in  the  grave,  yet  purged  of 
gross  materials  and  fleshly  appetites,  un- 
molested by  passion,  exempt  from  disease, 
and  guaranteed  against  decay.  (2.)  As  to 
the  power  which  our  Saviour  felt  that  He  had 
over  His  own  future.  The  usual  statement  is 
that  God  the  Father  raised  Him  up  on  the 
third  day  ;  but  in  the  instance  now  before  us, 
His  authority  to  cleanse  the  temple  had  been 
called  in  question ;  and  therefore  He  took 
occasion  to  say  that  He  had  power  not  only 
to  purify  a  temple  which  men  had  built,  but 
also  to  raise  up  a  temple  which  men  might 
destroy  but  could  not  construct,  and  to  do  it 
in  three  davs.* 

It  is  as  He  is  risen,  and  in  the  power  of 
His  resurrection,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  a  temple 
for  all  nations.  In  Him  God  dwells,  and  is 
accessible  to  all.  Neither  at  Jerusalem  nor 
at  Gerizim,  nor  at  any  holy  city  or  holy 
mount,  is  it  required  that  men  assemble  to 
worship  God ;  for  they  may  anywhere  draw 
near   to   Him  in   Christ,    and    be    at   peace. 

*  Compare  St.  John  x.  18. 


THE  TEMPLE.  263 

Here  is  the  place  for  reconciliation,  and  the 
home  of  communion,  the  refuge  for  sinners, 
and  the  resort  of  saints ;  a  temple  that  will 
never  be  subverted  and  never  crumble  to 
decay — "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday, 
and  to-day,  and  for  ever." 

With  the  light  of  the  apostolic  writings  to 
guide  us,  we  carry  this  vein  of  thought  and 
illustration  farther  still.  St.  Paul  thought 
of  every  individual  Christian  as  a  temple  of 
God.  Though  he  be  in  a  mortal  body,  he 
has  within  him  the  power  of  an  endless  life — 
"  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in  you."  The  in- 
ference is  that  sin  is  not  to  be  served  in  that 
mortal  body,  and  that  its  members  are  not 
to  be  "  yielded  as  instruments  of  unrighteous- 
ness." Much  has  been  said  by  moralists  of 
the  native  dignity  of  man  and  the  elevating 
power  of  self-respect,  but  St.  Paul  strikes  a 
higher  note  and  brings  a  stronger  persuasion 
to  bear  on  conscience  and  heart  when  he 
shows  the  relation  to  God  and  to  Christ  into 
which  the  very  body  of  a  Christian  believer 
is  brought.  "  Your  bodies  are  members  of 
Christ."     "  Know  ye  not  that  your  body  is 


264  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you, 
which  ye  have  from  God  ? "  * 

More  frequently,  however,  the  apostles  re- 
present individual  believers  as  living  stones, 
which  form  collectively  a  living  temple.  Thus 
the  whole  Church,  which  is  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ,  is  the  temple,  or  "habitation 
of  God  in  the  Spirit."  A  local  or  particular 
Church,  so  far  as  its  bounds  extend,  is  the 
representative  of  the  Church  catholic,  and  is 
called  a  temple  of  God.  So  it  was  at  Corinth, 
at  Ephesus,  and  among  the  Christian  Jews 
of  the  Eastern  dispersion,  t 

The  life  which  animates  the  living  stones 
and  so  pervades  the  temple,  emanates  from 
the  living  foundation-stone,  the  risen  Christ ; 
but  this  cannot  in  the  present  time  be  made 
fully  manifest.  Just  as  the  Lord  Himself 
was  not  understood  in  Jerusalem,  the  Church 
is  not  now  understood  in  the  world,  nor  does 
it  appear  as  it  shall  be.  Christians  are  seen 
in  poor  mortal  bodies,  but  their  inner  life 
is  not  seen.     So  men  look  on  Christian  society 

*  1  Cor.  vi.  15,  19. 
t  See  1  Cor.  iii.  16  ;  Eph.  ii.  21,  22  ;  1  Peter  ii.  5.  ., 


THE  TEMPLE.  265 

and  the  forms  in  which  it  has  organised  itself, 
but  do  not'  discern  the  Lord's  body.  They 
survey  Church  buildings  and  institutions,  but 
do  not  recognise  the  one  spiritual  edifice,  the 
holy  house  of  living  stones. 

Whether  men  recognise  it  sufficiently  or 
not,  Christ  continues  to  build  His  Church  in 
the  power  of  His  resurrection,  so  that  the 
gates  of  Hades  cannot  prevail  against  it.  He 
is  still  raising  it  up  as  the  days  go  on, 
employing,  as  a  Master-builder,  many  work- 
men, skilled  and  unskilled,  upon  the  struc- 
ture. 

In  such  a  world  as  this,  a  holy  temple 
must  needs  encounter  risk.  As  the  cattle- 
dealers  and  money-changers  desecrated  the 
courts  of  the  Lord's  house  at  Jerusalem,  so 
do  men  with  a  Christian  name  but  a  wrorldly 
heart  secularise  and  degrade  the  Church  of 
God.  Such  men,  sooner  or  later,  the  Lord 
will  drive  out  and  disown.  But  greater  still 
is  the  fault  of  those  who  by  strife  and  schism 
tend  to  destroy  the  temple.  They  strike 
the  pickaxes  of  contention  into  the  wall,  pro- 
duce separations  with  a  light  heart ;  and,  so 


266  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

far  as  they  succeed  in  loosening  one  stone 
from  another,  they  weaken  and  endanger  the 
entire  structure.  The  whole  process  of  sec- 
tarian disintegration  tends  to  convert  the 
Church  into  a  heap  of  confusion,  or  rather 
to  form  separate  heaps  of  loose  stones  in- 
stead of  "a  building:  of  God."  Against  this 
St.  Paul  has  lifted  a  stern  warning — "  If  any 
man  destroy  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall 
God  destroy."  *  And  the  destroyers,  in  his 
view,  were  not  the  persecutors  of  the  Chris- 
tians, but  those  Christians  who  said,  "  I  am 
of  Paul,  I  of  Apollos,  I  of  Cephas,"  and  so 
set  up  rival  parties  and  fostered  separatism 
in  the  Church  of  God. 

To  secularise  the  Church  is  to  strike  at 
its  holiness ;  and  "  holiness  becometh  Thine 
house,  0  Lord,  for  ever."  To  split  up  the 
Church  is  to  strike  at  its  life  and  peace.  It 
is  to  contradict  the  prayer — "Peace  be 
within  thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  thy 
palaces ! " 

*   I  Cor.  iii.  17. 


(    267     ) 


XXVII. 

THE    BREEZE. 

"  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  nearest  the  voice 
thereof,  but  knowest  not  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth;  so 
is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit." — St.  John  iii.  8. 

Oke  who  feels  uneasy  at  the  course  which 
a  conversation  unexpectedly  takes  not  in- 
frequently tries  to  check  or  turn  it  by  a 
puzzling  question  or  a  jest.  So  the  Phari- 
see who  came  to  discuss  the  claims  of  Jesus 
as  a  prophet,  and  opened  with  a  large  ad- 
mission on  the  subject,  was  embarrassed  by 
the  Nazarene's  reply,  which  did  not  at  all 
follow  his  lead,  but  referred  to  the  necessity 
of  regeneration ;  and  to  escape  from  or  cover 
his  embarrassment,  Nicodemus  put  forward  a 
question  which  was  neither  witty  nor  wise 
about  the  possibility  of  a  man  being  born 
twice  of  his  mother. 

We  at  once  see  the  ineptitude  of  this ;  yet 


268  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

we  do  not  see  much,  farther  thau  Nicodenius 
did  into  the  rationale  of  the  birth  from 
above.  The  origin  of  life  is  as  much  as  ever 
veiled  from  human  view ;  and  if  it  be  so 
in  the  springing  of  corn,  the  propagation  of 
flowers,  the  multiplication  of  insects,  and  the 
quickening  and  birth  of  children,  much  more 
is  there  mystery  about  a  spiritual  life,  origi- 
nating within  or  communicated  to  one  who 
already  has  physical,  intellectual,  and  to  some 
extent  moral  life  and  sensibility. 

That  there  is  something  in  the  process  of 
regeneration  which  we  cannot  see  or  explain 
is  what  natural  analogies  teach  us  to  expect, 
but  is  no  ground  whatever  for  scepticism  as 
to  its  possibility  and  reality.  Jesus  Christ, 
who  "knew  what  was  in  man,"  has  assured 
us  that  a  man  may  be  born  again,  and  that 
the  power  which  effects  such  a  change  is 
that  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Not  only  so.  He 
has  said  that  a  man  must  be  born  again  in 
order  to  enter  into,  or  even  to  discern,  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  this  evidently  is  no 
merely  arbitrary  'condition  laid  down  by 
authority ;  it  rests  on  the  very  nature  of  the 


THE  BREEZE.  269 

kingdom  as  spiritual,  and  therefore  cognis- 
able by  none  but  spiritual  minds.  On  the 
possibility  and  necessity  of  regeneration  the 
authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  seems  to  us  con- 
clusive. As  to  its  reality,  we  are  satisfied  by 
daily  facts  which  any  fair  observer  of  Chris- 
tian society  may  verify.  Men  are  inwardly 
and  completely  changed.  They  take  a  new 
tone  of  character.  They  begin  a  fresh  life 
like  little  children.  They  love  what  they 
used  to  hate,  and  hate  what  they  used  to 
love.  Their  disposition  and  conduct  show 
that  they  "Lave  received  the  Spirit  which 
is  of  God." 

The  point  which  is  brought  into  prominence 
by  Christ's  saying  about  the  breeze  is  the  un- 
accountableness  of  the  regenerate  or  spiritual 
life  to  those  who  judge  after  the  flesh.  It  was 
a  point  quite  new  to  Nicodemus,  for  he,  as 
a  Pharisee  and  ruler  of  the  Jews,'  had  been 
trained  in  a  religion  of  traditionalism  and 
prescription,  which  allowed  of  no  liberty,  and 
was  not  merely  very  visible,  but  ostenta- 
tiously so,  seeking  glory  from  men. 

Not  improbably  the  metaphor  was  suggested 


270  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

at  the  moment.  It  was  evening,  and  after 
sunset  a  light  breeze  often  springs  up  in  such 
climates  as  that  of  Judea.  If  it  happened  so, 
and  the  breeze  made  itself  felt  or  heard  through 
the  lattice  during  the  Pharisee's  visit,  our  Lord, 
according  to  His  wont,  seized  on  the  passing 
incident  to  elucidate  and  impress  His  mean- 
ing. He  used  not  the  ordinary  word  for  the 
wind  (o  ape/mo?),  but  that  which  means  the 
breath,  and  is  also  rendered  spirit  (to  irvev/xa). 
The  suoro-estion  is  not  of  a  whistling  wind,  but 

Do  O  ' 

of  the  gentle  breeze  that  rises  and  falls,  comes 
and  goes  one  knows  not  how  ;  and  not  of 
stormy  darkness,  but  rather  of  a  night 

"  When  the  sweet  wind  did  gently  kiss  the  trees." 

That  the  metaphor  was  suggested  in  this  wray 
we  only  put  forth  as  a  probable  conjecture. 
With  more  certainty  we  trace  it  to  Old  Testa- 
ment Scripture,  with  which  the  mind  of  Jesus 
was  so  richly  stored.  The  passage  which,  as 
we  suppose,  was  in  His  view,  runs  thus  : — 
"As  thou  knowest  not  what  is  the  way  of  the 
spirit,  nor  how  the*  bones  do  grow  in  the  womb 
of  her  that  is  with  child,  even  so  thou  knowest 


THE  BREEZE.  271 

not  the  works  of  God  who  maketh  all."  *  The 
play  of  the  light  wind  and  the  mystery  of  the 
living  babe  unborn  are  joined  together  as 
things  which  are  known  and  yet  cannot  be 
defined. 

Often  this  saying  to  Nicodemus  is  quoted 
as  though  it  made  the  breeze  an  illustration  of 
the  movement  and  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  what  our  Lord  spoke  of  was  the  way 
which  they  take,  the  liberty  they  exercise,  who 
are  born  of  the  Spirit. 

In  modern  times  we  trace  the  path  of  the 
winds  and  measure  their  strength  and  velo- 
city.  We  try  to  reach  the  general  laws  which 
govern  those  currents  of  air.  We  know 
that,  like  all  the  forces  in  nature,  they  are 
under  control,  and  are  enclosed  in  the  com- 
prehensive plan  and  order  of  creation  ;  and 
yet,  so  far  as  man's  control  is  concerned,  the 
wind  is  a  thing  of  unchained  liberty,  and 
snves  to  us  small  account  of  its  coming  and 
going.  The  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
like  manner,  is  according  to  the  law  of  God's 

*  Eccles  xi.  5.     Spirit  or  inspiring  breath.    The  Septuagint 
lias  irvevfxa.. 


272  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

new  creation,  and  is  enclosed  in  His  compre- 
hensive purpose  of  grace,  but  does  not  submit 
itself  to  human  judgment  or  control.  It  goes 
forth  as  a  Divine  breath  with  a  sovereign ty 
that  silences  questions  and  defies  curiosity. 
But  not  only  so.  As  is  the  Spirit  of  God,  so 
are  they  who  are  born  of  the  Spirit.  The 
Spirit  is  holy,  and  they  follow  after  holiness. 
The  Spirit  is  free,  and  they  walk  in  liberty. 
It  is  hard  for  those  who  are  inured  to  a  reli- 
gion of  prescription  and  constraint  to  credit 
that  freedom  is  either  holy  or  safe ;  but  it 
is  none  the  less  a  "  doctrine  according  to  god- 
liness "  that  Christ  makes  Christians  "free 
indeed." 

The  vast  majority  of  men  are  easily  ac- 
counted for ;  they  are  copies  of  each  other. 
In  the  same  community  they  think  the  same 
thoughts,  form  the  same  habits,  entertain  the 
same  prejudices,  repeat  the  same  sentiments, 
and  in  the  same  phrases.  There  is  no  mystery 
about  them.  We  become  familiar  with  the 
type  of  man  who  belongs  to  this  set  or  to  that 
profession,  and  understand  whence  he  came 
and  whither  he  goes.     Only  at  rare  intervals 


THE  BREEZE.  273 

do  we  fall  in  with  one  who  is  really  fresh  and 
individual,  and  of  whom  we  cannot  predicate 
what  he  will  say  and  do,  whence  his  thoughts 
and  convictions  come,  and  whither  they  tend. 

Even  in  Christian  circles,  where  familiarity 
with  the  most  momentous  and  profound  matters 
ought  to  deepen  and  strengthen  character, 
there  is  much  vapid  commonplace.  Men  copy 
religion  from  one  another,  put  on  the  same 
form  of  godliness,  set  up  the  same  conven- 
tional standard  of  virtue,  use  the  same  phrases 
and  signs  of  devotion.  Nay,  when  they  are 
most  in  earnest  they  are  so  at  second  baud, 
catching  a  sort  of  contagious  zeal  from  others. 
We  have  no  difficulty  in  seeing  whence  their 
religion  comes  and  whither  it  goes.  It  has 
no  secret  source,  no  hidden  strength,  no  con- 
tact of  heart  with  God.  But  there  should  be 
something  unique  about  every  one  that  is  born 
of  the  Spirit.  He  is  one  of  a  holy  society;  but 
he  has  not  been  born  of  the  society  :  he  is  of 
God. 

A  worldly-wise  mind  is  very  apt  to  mis- 
judge such  a  man.  At  all  events,  it  is  puzzled 
by  him,    and  asks,  Whence    comes    this  en- 


274  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

thusiasm  ?  What  makes  this  man  so  fond  of 
the  Bible  and  of  the  Church  ?  Are  his  nerves 
shaken  ?  Is  his  brain  touched  ?  Or  is  he  a 
shrewd  schemer  who  makes  gain  out  of  as- 
sumed godliness  ?  And  whither  will  this  go  ? 
How  will  it  reach  its  limit  ?  When  and  where 
will  it  stop  ? 

A  mind  that  can  discern  spiritual  things 
perceives  this  much  about  the  life  of  godliness, 
that  it  comes  from  a  hidden  heavenly  source, 
and  goes  on  to  an  unseen  heavenly  issue.  It 
has  been  well  said  by  a  modern  Oxford  divine, 
"  The  destination  of  the  character  of  the  man 
of  the  world,  even  if  he  is  respectable  and  in 
his  own  way  useful,  is  not  an  invisible  one ; 
all  his  qualities  are  obviously  made  for  this 
world  as  their  field  of  exercise  ;  they  do  not 
point  to  or  give  any  forecast  of  another.  But 
the  character  which  has  the  unknown  origin 

o 

is  itself  a  prophecy  and  presage  of  another 
world,  because  it  seems  made  for  it.  Its 
source  and  its  destination  then  are  alike  be- 
yond our  sight.  We  do  not  see  that  great 
Spirit  from  whom  the  sons  of  God  derive  their 
birth ;    we  do  not  see  that  heavenly  society 


THE  BREEZE.  '  275 

towards  which  they  are  journeying.  Whence 
they  come  and  whither  they  go  we  see  not ; 
and  that  because  they  are  born  of  the 
Spirit."  * 

The  great  perplexity  which  filled  the  minds 
of  men  regarding  our  Lord  Jesus  Himself  was, 
Whence  had  He  come  ?  and  Whither  did  He 
go  ?  Whence  had  He  derived  such  wisdom, 
authority,  and  power  ?  Certainly  not  from 
Nazareth.  And  whither  did  He  tend  ?  What 
did  He  mean  by  going  to  His  Father  ?  He 
was  inexplicable  because  He  was  so  spiritual, 
so  heavenly.  With  His  disciples,  indeed, 
He  was  at  pains  to  expound  the  mystery  of 
His  origin  and  destiny.  He  showed  them 
plainly  that  He  had  come  from  God,  and 
would  return  to  God.  Nicodemus  thought 
that  He  knew  at  least  the  first  half  of  this, 
viz.,  that  Jesus  was  "  a  teacher  come  from 
God."  But  he  needed  to  be  born  again  in 
order  to  apprehend  clearly  whence  and  why 
Jesus  had  come,  and  whither  He  would  £0. 
"  Whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye 
know." 

*  Mozley's  University  Sermons,  p.  242. 


276  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

The  true  followers  of  Christ  are,  like  Himself, 
heaven-born  and  heaven-tending.  Therefore 
the  world  knows  them  not.  Therefore,  too, 
they  are  a  wonder  to  themselves — a  wonder  of 
Divine  compassion  and  grace.  And  therefore, 
too,  they  are  bound  to  be  brotherly  and  forbear- 
ing one  toward  another.  The  breeze  demands 
freedom,  and  so  does  the  Spirit-born  life  in 
man.  So  soon  as  a  Christian  man  under- 
stands this,  he  ceases  to  dictate  to  his  brother, 
or  to  set  up  in  the  Church  mere  conventional 
tests  and  laws  of  uniformity. 

It  is  death  that  is  formal,  measured,  and 
monotonous.  It  has  no  breath,  no  feeling, 
no  movement.  Life  must  have  liberty.  It 
moves  like  the  breeze ;  and  the  higher  the 
quality  of  the  life,  the  more  the  scope  which 
it  requires  for  its  activities.  This  will  seem 
to  religious  pedants  full  of  risk.  They  will 
urge  that  freedom  is  apt  to  be  abused  and  to 
degenerate  into  license :  and  that  men  who 
are  capricious,  or  perhaps  obstinate,  may  re- 
present to  others,  and  even  persuade  them- 
selves, that  they  are  following  the  guidance 
of  the  Divine   Spirit,   when  they   are  really 


THE  BREEZE.  277 

actuated  by  fickle  fancy  or  pertinacious  self- 
will.  It  may  be  so.  Be  it  so :  nevertheless 
liberty  is  the  heritage  of  the  children  of  God, 
and  it  is  not  to  be  denied  to  them  because  by 
some  who  are  ill  instructed  it  may  be  mis- 
construed or  misused.  We  must  not  be  en- 
tangled again  in  any  yoke  of  bondage.  In 
the  Spirit  we  may  have  great  boldness  of 
speech,  stretch  of  faith,  flow  of  affection,  in- 
spiration of  hope,  insight  into  truth,  and  out- 
goings of  the  soul  to  things  which  eye  has 
not  seen  nor  ear  heard.  We  do  not  want 
more  straps  and  buckles  to  pinch  and  squeeze 
our  life.  We  want  more  life.  We  want  to 
breathe  more  freely,  and  so  to  exhale  what 
we  inhale.  We  want  to  drink  more  deeply 
of  the  living  water,  and  so  to  give  forth  freely 
rivers  of  living  water.  Come  freely,  0  quicken- 
ing Breath !  Flow  freely,  0  living  and  life- 
inspiring  Stream  ! 


(    278    ) 


XXVIII. 

LIVING     WATER. 

"  Jesua  answered  and  said  unto  her,  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of 
God,  and  who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee,  Give  Me  to  drink  ;  thou 
wouldest  have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  have  given  thee  living 
water.  The  woman  saith  unto  Him,  Sir,  thou  hast  nothing  to  draw 
with,  and  the  well  is  deep :  from  whence  then  hast  thou  that  living 
water  ?  Art  thou  greater  than  our  father  Jacob,  which  gave  us 
the  well,  and  drank  thereof  himself,  and  his  sons,  and  his  cattle? 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her,  Every  one  that  drinketh  of  this 
water  shall  thirst  again:  but  whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water 
that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall 
give  him  shall  become  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  unto 
eternal  life.  .  .  .  Now  on  the  last  day,  the  great  day  of  the  feast, 
Jesus  stood  and  cried,  saying,  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto 
Me,  and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  Me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water.  But  this  spake  He 
of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believed  on  Him  were  to  receive  :  for 
the  Spirit  was  not  yet  given  ;  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified." — 
St.  John  iv.  10-14 »  v"-  37~39- 

In  each  of  the  Scriptures  quoted  above  we 
have  a  beautiful  instance  of  the  felicity  with 
which  Jesus  Christ  turned  the  incident  of  the 
moment  to  spiritual  use  and  found  sacred 
metaphors  in  familiar  things.  Nothing  could 
have   been  more  natural  or  unstudied  than 


LIVING  WATER.  279 

His  behaviour  at  the  well  of  Sychar.     It  was 
what  any  wayworn  traveller  might  have  done, 
to  rest  at  such  a  spot,  and  to  ask  for  a  drink 
from  the  first  comer,  as  He  carried  no  vessel 
with  Him,  and  the  well  wras  deep.     But  then 
came   into    exercise    His   unique   faculty  for 
speaking  "a  word  in  season;"  and  the  seat' 
by  the  well  became  a  chair  of  Divine  philo- 
sophy, or  a  pulpit  of  godly  instruction,  while 
He  talked  of  living  water.     The  second  in- 
stance was  at  Jerusalem,  and  on  the  last  or 
eighth  day,   the  great  day  of  the  Feast  of 
Booths.      According   to    custom,    water    was 
drawn  from  the  pool  of  Siloam   and  poured 
out  in  the  court  of  the  temple,  while  trum- 
pets   sounded    and    the    air    was   rent   with 
joyful   acclamations.      Jesus,    being   present, 
saw  His  opportunity  to  proffer  to  the  people 
a  blessing  fraught  with  more  lasting  joy.     So 
He  stood  and  cried,  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let 
him  come  to  Me,  and  drink." 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  fourth  Evangelist 
that  this  metaphor,  omitted  in  the  other 
Gospels,  has  been  noted  and  preserved  by 
him.      His   mind   was   much   occupied   with 


28o  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

the  thought  of  eternal  life  in  Christ,  and 
with  the  persuasion  that  the  Father  had 
given  power  to  the  Son  to  quicken  whom 
He  would.  Accordingly,  it  is  in  his  Gospel 
that  we  read  of  the  gift  of  life,  light  of  life, 
water  of  life,  bread  of  life,  and  resurrection 
of  life. 

To  take  water  as  an  emblem  of  spiritual 
vitality  was  not  an  original  suggestion  in 
the  sense"  of  being  absolutely  new.  Poets 
and  prophets  of  Judah  had  referred  to  foun- 
tains and  streams  in  the  same  metaphorical 
manner.  Isaiah  wrote  the  often -quoted 
words,  "  With  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  out 
of  the  wells  of  salvation.  *  In  Jeremiah 
Jehovah  had  described  Himself  as  "  the  foun- 
tain of  living  waters."  t 

These  Scriptures,  however,  were  unknown 
to  the  woman  at  Sychar,  for  the  Samaritans 
received  only  the  Pentateuch.  Even  had  she 
known  them,  it  is  not  likely  that  she  would 
have  caught  their  inner  sense.  A  woman  of 
her  habits  could  not  readily  pass  into  the 
grave  sweet  idealism  of  the   prophetic  soul. 

*  Isa.  xii.  3.     See  also  Isa.  xli.  17,  18.  t  Jer.  ii.  13. 


LIVING  WATER.  281 

See  bow  she  was  puzzled  by  tbe  Saviour's 
mention  of  living  water.  Water  that  is  not 
stagnant  is  livinsr.  It  bubbles  in  a  fountain 
or  flows  in  a  stream.  The  water  of  the  well 
at  Sychar  was  living,  and  the  well  itself 
was  of  great  fame.  All  the  citizens  were 
proud  of  it ;  the  more  so'  that  they  traced 
it  back  to  one  whom  they  held  in  high  hon- 
our, their  ancestor  Jacob.  What  could  this 
stranger  mean  by  alleging  that  he  could 
give  living  water,  better  in  quality  than 
she  could  draw  from  Jacob's  well?  Still,  if 
He  could  in  any  way  relieve  her  of  the 
daily  drudgery  which  she  had  to  perform 
in  coming  out  to  this  spot  and  carrying 
her  large  jar  of  water  on  her  head  into  the 
town,  she  would  be  glad  to  know  how  He 
proposed  to  do  it.  He  evidently  spoke  not  in 
jest ;  but  the  thing  was  too  good  to  be  true. 

The  Lord  spoke  in  a  figure  both  at  Sychar 
and  at  Jerusalem.  Under  the  name  of  livins: 
water  He  indicated  some  element  which  is 
indispensable  to  the  welfare  of  the  inner  man, 
and  has  power  to  refresh  and  nourish  that  life 
which  is  everlasting:. 


282  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

He  Himself  is  the  true  well  or  fountain 
of  that  life.  In  Him  all  fulness  dwells,  and 
out  of  His  fulness  we  receive.  Whosoever 
wishes  to  obtain  living  water  must  ask  it  of 
Him.  Whosoever  is  athirst  is  to  come  to 
Him  and  drink.  And  what  a  wonderful 
thouorht  is  this  !  What  a  claim  to  be  made 
by  a  "  carpenter's  son  "  from  Nazareth  !  It 
was  either  an  unpardonable  exaggeration  or 
it  is  a  witness  to  the  conscious  Divinity  as 
well  as  humanity  of  our  Saviour.  Is  it  con- 
ceivable that  any  one  with  an  honest  heart 
and  a  reverence  for  truth  would  presume, 
while  knowing  himself  to  be  only  a  man,  to 
present  himself  to  all  mankind  and  say, 
"  Come  to  Me  and  drink ! "  Is  it  credible 
that  a  devout  man  of  the  Hebrew  race,  ac- 
quainted with  the  books  of  the  prophets, 
would,  even  if  he  knew  himself  to  be  a 
prophet  like  Isaiah  or  Jeremiah,  have  pre- 
sumed to  point  to  himself  as  being  what 
Jehovah  had  proclaimed  Himself  to  be,  "  the 
fountain  of  living  waters "  ?  It  is  not  con- 
ceivable,  not  credible.  This  man  must 
have   been   more   than    man  ;    this   prophet 


LIVING   WATER.  283 

was   more  than   a  prophet.     Truly  this  was 
the  Son  of  God. 

The  water  drawn  from  Christ  as  the  well  is 
the  Spirit  of  Life  which  He  imparts.  It  is 
not  easy  to  express  in  words  the  connection 
between  the  Divine  Son  and  the  Divine  Spirit 
in  personal  salvation  and  experience  ;  but 
there  is  no  real  perplexity  or  confusion,  as 
serious  Christians  well  know.  That  Christ  is 
with  us  always  is  explained  by  the  abiding 
of  the  Spirit.  Christ  quickens  us  by  impart- 
ing the  Spirit  of  Life,  and  lives  in  us  by 
His  Spirit  dwelling  within  us.  Indeed,  if  we 
dwell  in  love,  we  dwell  in  God,  and  He  in  us.# 
But  in  so  far  as  the  relation  of  the  Divine 
Son  and  of  the  Divine  Spirit  to  the  individual 
believer  may  be  distinguished  in  a  figure,  the 
illustration  now  before  us  is  perhaps  the  most 
apposite  that  can  be  found.  The  well  repre- 
sents Jesus  Christ,  the  Prince  of  Life. 

"  0  Christ  !  He  is  the  fountain, 
The  deep  sweet  well  of  love." 

Then   the   water   or    element    of   life,    which 
Christ  freely  imparts,  is  the  Spirit  of  all  grace, 

*  1  John  iv.  16. 


284  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

which   we   receive.      We   are    "all   made   to 
drink  into  one  Spirit." 

The  points  of  analogy  are  obvious: — (i.) 
As  the  well  at  Sychar  was  free  to  all  comers, 
so  is  Jesus  Christ  free  and  accessible  to  all. 
The  invitation  by  the  pen  of  the  prophet 
Isaiah  holds  good — "  Ho !  every  one  that, 
thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he 
that  hath  no  money."  *  Water  is  often  sold 
in  the  Eastern  cities  to  those  who  have 
money,  but  the  public  well  is  for  all,  "  with- 
out money  and  without  price."  (2.)  As  water 
is  a  necessary  of  life,  and  has  power  to  enliven 
the  faint  and  refresh  the  weary,  so  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  necessary  to  the  interior  life  of 
faith  and  prayer,  and  able  both  to  restore  the 
discouraged  and  to  revive  the  languid  and  the 
sorrowful. 

It  is  a  point  of  contrast  on  which  our  Lord 
laid  emphasis  at  Sychar.  He  reminded  the 
Samaritan  woman  that  water  from  Jacob's 
well,  or  any  similar  source,  would  give  but  a 
temporary  relief  from  thirst.  He  who  drank 
of  it  soon    needed  to   drink   again  ;  and  for 

*  Isaiah  lv.  I. 


LIVING  WATER.  285 

the  simple  reason,  that  the  water  imbibed  is 
soon  worked  off  or  consumed  in  the  constant 
waste  of  the  vital  system.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  the  living  water  which  Jesus  Christ  is 
able  to  give ;  it  is  not  spent  or  exhausted 
in  the  operation  of  the  spiritual  life.  Thus 
the  Holy  Ghost,  when  received,  abides.  A 
follower  of  Jesus  does  indeed  desire  and  pray 
for  a  more  copious  supply  of  the  Spirit ;  but 
he  is  not  without  the  Spirit,  and  ought  not 
to  feel  or  to  pray  as  though  he  had  yet  for 
the  first  time  to  taste  that  living  water. 

See  how  we  have  to  do  with  the  objective 
and  the  subjective  Christ — Christ  without  and 
Christ  within.  As  the  woman  of  Sychar  had 
to  go  out  of  her  house,  and  even  beyond  the 
gate  of  the  town,  to  reach  the  well  and  draw 
water^so  every  one  who  would  obtain  living 
water  must  go  beyond  himself,  his  house,  his 
whole  social  and  moral  environment,  and  come 
to  Jesus  Christ  as  He  is  revealed  in  the  gospel, 
full  of  grace  and  truth.  This  application  to 
Him  in  faith  must  go  first.  Then  follows  a 
marvellous  thing.  Christ  enters  into  the  heart 
that  has  "asked  of  tlim."     He  dwells  in  the 


286  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

heart  by  faith.  Thus  there  is  not  only  water, 
but  a  well  of  water  in  "  the  inner  man."  St. 
Paul  said  truly,  "  Christ  liveth  in  me."  From 
the  well  or  indwelling  Christ  the  waters  gush. 
His  Spirit  actuates  the  thoughts,  desires, 
words,  and  actions  of  each  living  Christian. 
The  whole  outflow  from  the  seat  of  inner  life 
is  good  and  holy.  Out  of  the  spiritual  man 
"  flow  rivers  of  living  water." 

There  may  be — there  ought  to  be — increase 
of  faith,  and  so  of  spiritual  life.  The  inward 
well  may  be  deepened,  and  the  stream  which 
issues  from  it  may  have  a  more  copious  flow. 
Alas !  the  opposite  too  often  occurs.  The  well 
may  be  half  choked  with  rubbish  and  the 
rivers  all  but  dried  up  by  worldliness.  Still 
the  rule  is  continuance  ;  the  thing  expected 
is  the  steady  spiritual  life  secured  by  the 
indwelling  Christ  and  His  abiding  Spirit. 

The  career  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus  was  a 
consummate  example  of  life  in  the  Spirit. 
And  how  strong  was  the  current  of  this 
life  and  power  in  Him  is  shown  by  the  holy 
zeal  with  which  He  forgot  His  own  physical 
want  when  the  opportunity  came  to  Him  of 


LIVING  WATER.  287 

opening  spiritual  things  to  one  Samaritan 
listener.  So  far  as  we  learn,  He  drank  not 
at  all  of  Jacob's  well ;  and  when  His  disciples 
brought  food  to  Him  from  the  town,  they 
heard  Him  say  that  He  had  meat  to  eat 
that  they  knew  not  of.  Then  the  woman 
also,  beginning  to  feel  the  pulsations  of  a 
new  life,  forgot  the  purpose  for  which  she 
had  come  out  to  that  spot,  left  her  water- 
pot  at  the  well,  and  hastened  into  the 
town  to  call  the  people  to  the  Christ.  She 
compares  favourably  with  Nicodemus  under 
very  similar  instruction.  When  the  Pharisee 
had  heard  of  "  water  aud  the  Spirit,"  he 
departed  as  he  had  come,  under  the  cover 
of  night — "secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews." 
But  this  woman  went  openly  and  spoke 
to  the  men  of  her  city  regarding  Jesus. 
She  might  have  been  deterred  by  fear  of 
them.  Her  manner  of  life  exposed  her  to 
reproach.  She  might  be  jeered  at  bitterly, 
as  a  strange  person  to  turn  missionary.  But 
she  cared  not  what  men  might  say  of  her. 
Let  them  only  come  to  the  Man  who  had 
told  her  all  things  that  ever  she  did ! 


28S  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

Some  persons  are  sceptical  of  great  spiritual 
changes,  and  view  the  doctrine  of  a  Divine 
indwelling  as  a  sort  of  "  tall  talk"  in  religion. 
We  do  not  attempt  to  prove  such  things  by 
argument  to  persons  who  themselves  have  no 
more  than  a  form  of  godliness  and  deny  its 
power.  Intellectual  demonstrations  can  be 
made  to  those  only  who  have  a  sufficient  in- 
tellectual aptitude  and  preparation  for  them. 
In  like  manner  spiritual  phenomena  can  be 
made  plain  and  certain  to  those  only  who, 
knowing  the  power  of  godliness,  are  able  to 
discern  and  estimate  the  operation  of  that 
power  on  others.  No  person  who  has  him- 
self experienced  the  quickening  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  doubts  the  transforming  opera- 
tion of  that  Spirit  on  others,  or  has  difficulty 
in  believing  that  God  now  dwells  with  men. 
There  are  Christian  lives  to  be  seen  every  day 
by  those  who  have  eyes  to  see  which  evidently 
are  no  mere  surface  amendments  of  conduct, 
but  have  a  pervading  tone  and  a  deep  motive 
force  that  come  from  God.  They  do  not  pro- 
ceed on  mere  impulse,  and  are  not  sustained 
by  human  encouragement  or  applause.     Often 


LIVING   WATER.  289 

those  who  lead  such  lives  have  to  endure 
discouragement  and  obloquy ;  yet  they  con- 
tinue fresh,  lively,  resolute,  patient,  and  fruit- 
ful. It  is  because  there  is  a  well  of  water 
within — such  water  as  springs  up  to  life  ever- 
lasting. 

Happy  they  who  have  Christ  in  their  hearts, 
and   all   the    outflow   of  whose    character  is 
actuated    and   hallowed   by    His    Spirit !     A 
Christian  who  has  no  experience  of  this  hardly 
deserves    that    name.     When   you   visit   the' 
ruins  of  ancient  castles  and  strongholds,  you: 
are   pretty  sure   to  find  an   old   well  in  the 
courtyard,  perhaps  choked  up   and  dry,  per- 
haps still  yielding  living  water.     Weak  would! 
the  fortress  have  been,  however  thick  its  walls 
and  brave  its  garrison,  if  it  had  no  fountain 
within  itself  providing  a  supply  of  water  that 
no  enemy  could  cut  off.     So  with  the  fortress 
of  "  Mansoul."    It  can  stand  no  siege,  endure 
no   hardness,    make    no    long    resistance    to 
assault,  unless  within  it,  guarded  and  cherished, 
there  be  a  well  of  living  water,  a  fountain  of 
strength,  wisdom,  purity,  and  comfort,  and  a 
continual  supply  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  Jesus. 


(     290    ) 


XXIX. 

LIVING   BREAD. 

"  Work  not  for  the  meat  •which  perisheth,  but  for  the  meat  which 
abideth  unto  eternal  life,  which  the  Son  of  Man  shall  give  unto  you : 
for  Him  the  Father,  even  God,  hath  sealed.  ...  I  am  the  bread  of 
life.  Your  fathers  did  eat  the  manna  in  the  wilderness,  and  they 
died.  This  is  the  bread  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven,  that  a 
man  may  eat  thereof,  and  not  die.  I  am  the  living  bread  which  came 
down  out  of  heaven  :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  for 
ever :  yea,  and  the  bread  which  I  will  give  is  My  flesh,  for  the  life  of 
the  world."— St.  John  vi.  27,  48-51. 

This  metaphor,  like  so  many  more,  was  sug- 
gested by  the  occasion.  There  were  two  sugges- 
tions, and,  following  these,  the  truth  which 
our  Lord  desired  to  inculcate  received  a  grow- 
ing expression. 

I.  In  the  first  instance,  a  multitude  had 
followed  Jesus  across  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
because  He  had,  on  the  previous  day,  fed 
them  on  barley-bread  and  fish  in  a  desert 
place,  and  they  hoped  that  He  would  do  so 


LIVING  BREAD.  291 

again.  They  were  poor  people,  and  a  gratui- 
tous meal,  even  of  the  plainest  food,  was  an 
object  to  them.  It  was  not  a  very  noble 
motive,  but  it  was  quite  as  good  as  that 
which  influences  a  good  many  people  now-a- 
days  to  value  Jesus  Christ  for  temporal  bene- 
fits which  they  receive  by  attaching  themselves 
to  His  Church,  or  for  the  inward  satisfaction 
and  comfort  which  they  enjoy  as  Christians. 

But  Jesus  Christ  had  not  come  to  suspend 
the  old  law  that  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  man 
must  eat  bread.  Therefore  He  gave  no  en- 
couragement to  the  hope  which  had  drawn  the 
multitude  after  Him,  but  began  to  speak  to 
them  of  a  better  bread  which  He  would  give — 
food  that  would  endure  to  eternal  life.  The 
case  is  exactly  parallel  to  that  of  His  conver- 
sation with  the  woman  at  Sychar,  where  He 
left  off  speaking  of  the  water  from  Jacobs 
well,  and  set  far  above  it  the  water  that 
He  could  give  as  the  element  of  a  life  ever- 
lasting. 

It  is  also  a  point  worthy  of  notice  that  in 
this  instance,  as  also  in  that,  the  Lord  dwelt 
not  so  much   on  the  mystic  element  at  the 


292  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

becnnnin£  of  the  conversation  as  on  His  own 
power  to  bestow  it.  He  turned  the  thought 
of  the  Samaritan  woman  to  Himself.  If  she 
had  known  Him,  she  would  have  asked  of 
Him,  and  He  would  have  given  her  living 
water.  So  also  at  Capernaum,  He  spoke 
to  the  people  of  Himself  as  able  to  give  the 
food  of  an  everlasting  life.  The  mode,  how- 
ever, in  which  He  described  the  necessary 
application  to  Him  for  the  boon  was  signi- 
ficantly altered..  The  woman  should  simply 
have  asked.  This  multitude  were  told  to 
work. 

They  liked  this  expression ;  it  quite  suited 
their  conception  of  religion ;  and  so,  without 
a  question  about  the  nature  of  this  mystic 
food,  they  asked  for  definite  direction  about 
the  labour  necessary  for  obtaining  it.  The 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  taught  them  on 
this  wise — "  This  ye  must  do,  and  that  ye 
must  not  do."  What  would  the  new  Kabbi 
prescribe  ?  "  What  shall  we  do  that  we  may 
work  the  works  of  God  ? "  But  the  reply  of 
Jesus  soon  showed  that  He  was  not  going 
to  be  a  teacher  of  self-righteousness.     "This 


LIVING  BREAD.  293 

is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  Him 
whom  He  hath  sent." 

The  question  rises  here — If  our  Lord  meant 
"believe,"  why  did  He  say  "labour"?  And 
divines  jealous  for  the  doctrine  of  free  grace 
have  been  more  at  a  loss  for  an  answer  than 
they  need  have  been.  They  have  gravely 
taught  on  this  saying  of  Christ  that  men 
should  "  labour  to  get  an  appetite  for  spiritual 
meat,"  and  have  towards  this  object  given 
such  advices  as  the  following : — That  men 
should  labour  daily  to  discern  what  state 
they  are  in  without  Christ ;  that  they  should 
consider  the  vanity  of  those  things  that  draw 
them  from  Christ ;  that  they  should  "  exercise 
themselves  in  resisting  temptations  and  snares 
of  Satan,  so  that  the  exercise  may  create  an 
appetite  in  the  soul ; "  and  that  they  should 
reflect  how  soon  the  table  Christ  has  spread 
may  be  taken  away,  "  to  the  end  that  they 
may  not  neglect  it  any  longer."  *  Very  good 
admonitions,  no  doubt,  but  not  very  elucida- 
tive of  the  text.  Christ  said  not  labour  for 
an  appetite,  but  "  labour  for  the  meat."  The 
*  See  Dr.  Richard  SibVs  Works,  vol.  iii.  pp.  359-361,  ed.  1809. 


294  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

meaning  and  the  propriety  of  the  phrase  are 
easily  recognised  if  we  attend  to  the  occasion 
on  which  it  was  used.  The  woman  at  Sychar 
had  come  out  to  the  well  to  draw  water,  and 
the  Lord  told  her  that  by  asking  she  might 
draw  from  Him  living  water.  But  the  crowd 
at  Capernaum  had  come  to  that  place  by  toil- 
ing across  the  sea  in  small  boats,  seeking 
Jesus.  This  had  been  their  labour  for  the 
meat  that  perishes,  because  they  hoped  that 
He  would  feed  them  ao-ain  as  He  had  done  on 

o 

the  previous  evening.  So  He  told  them  to 
take  the  same  course  for  a  better  bread.  They 
should  spare  no  pains,  lose  no  time,  in  seeking 
the  Son  of  Man,  and  applying  to  Him  who 
alone  can  give  the  food  of  the  life  everlasting  ; 
"  for  Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed."  Thus 
the  labour  has  nothing  whatever  in  common 
with  the  toils  of  self-righteousness.  It  is  in 
sharp  contrast  with  these ;  for  it  is  just  the 
earnest  seeking  of  Jesus  Christ  till  we  find 
Him,  and  applying  to  Him  for  what  is  not 
our  desert,  but  His  free  gift.  And  what  is 
this  but  believing  on  Him  whom  God  has 
sent? 


LIVING  BREAD.  295 

So  far  the  first  stage  of  this  teaching.  The 
meaning  of  the  spiritual  bread  was  not  dis- 
closed, but  it  was  revealed  that  such  bread 
was  obtainable  ;  that  in  value  it  is  as  far  above 
"barley  loaves"  as  eternal  life  is  above  tem- 
poral ;  and  that  it  is  to  be  got  by  any  and  by 
all  who,  with  minds  intent  upon  it,  repair  to 
Jesus  Christ. 

II.  As  the  conversation  proceeded,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  living  bread  from  heaven  came  out 
more  distinctly  and  emphatically.  The  oppor- 
tunity for  it  was  afforded  by  the  language  of 
the  people.  They  understood  our  Saviour  to 
hint  at  some  bread  superior  to  that  of  common 
life ;  and,  jealous  for  the  honour  of  "  Moses 
in  whom  they  trusted,"  as  the  Samaritan 
woman  had  been  jealous  for  the  honour  of 
"our  father  Jacob,"  they  recalled  the  days 
when  their  fathers,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  great  prophet-legislator,  "  ate  manna  in 
the  wilderness."  Jesus  at  once  accepted  the 
reference.  Nothing  could  have  been  better 
for  the  elucidation  of  His  doctrine. 

He  at  once  lifted  the  subject  above  any 
discussion    of    the    power    of    Moses.       The 


296  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

manna  had  been  the  gift  of  God,  whom  He 
claimed  as  His  own  Father.  It  had  been 
immeasurably  beyond  the  capacity  of  Moses 
to  have  given  even  one  day's  supply  of  bread 
to  the  twelve  tribes.  Then  He  showed 
that  the  manna  itself,  invaluable  as  it  had 
been  for  its  purpose,  was  not  God's  highest 
gift  of  bread.  It  was  a  sign  of  a  better,  or 
rather  of  a  best,  as  the  water  in  Jacob's  well 
might  be  taken  as  the  figure  of  a  better,  or 
rather  of  a  best.  The  manna  was  a  food 
that  perished.  It  was  peculiarly  perishable,* 
and  the  generation  that  ate  of  it  died  as  other 
generations  had  done.  But  now  God  had 
given  from  heaven  a  Living  Bread,  of  which 
if  a  man  should  eat  he  would  live  for  ever. 
The  Bread  of  which  He  spoke,  what  was 
it  ?  It  was  the  Lord  Himself,  given  by  the 
Father — Bread  that  had  "  come  down  out 
of  heaven." 

The  metaphor  of  receiving  wisdom  as  by 
a  process  of  eating  and  drinking  was  not 
new  to  those  of  our  Lord's  hearers  who  knew 
the   Book   of  Proverbs — "  Come,  eat    of  my 

*  Exod.  xvi.  20,  21. 


LIVING  BREAD.  297 

bread,  and  drink  of  the  wine  which  I  have 
mingled."  *  There  is  a  parallel  passage  in 
Ecclesiasticus.f  and  indeed  the  figure  was 
frequently  used  by  Jewish  teachers,  and  is 
familiar  to  the  Eastern  mind.  But  Jesus 
Christ  claimed  to  give  more  than  wisdom. 
He  bestowed  everlasting  life. 

And  how?  Eecognise  here  again,  as  well 
as  in  the  metaphor  of  the  well  of  water,  the 
sequence  of  the  objective  Christ  and  the  sub- 
jective Christ — the  Bread  for  us  provided  by 
God  and  the  Bread  in  us  received  and  ap- 
propriated by  faith.  The  Bread  divinely 
given  and  sent  from  heaven  is  shown  to  us 
in  the  gospel.  We  see  it  and  hail  it  with 
joy.  We  have  spent  our  money  for  that 
which  is  not  bread,  bnt  this  requires  no 
money  or  price.  A  voice  from  heaven  says, 
"  Hearken  diligently  unto  Me,  and  eat  ye 
that  which  is  good."  J  So  we  desist  from 
our  own  desires,  and,  under  the  warrant  of 
the  Divine  invitation  and  command,  take 
freely  what  the  God  of  love  has  freely  be- 
stowed.     We  believe,   and  believing  we  eat 

*  Prov.  ix.  5.  f  Chap.  xxiv.  18-21.  X  Isaiah  lv.  2. 


298  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

the  Heavenly  Bread.  It  enters  into  us  ;  then 
all  is  changed.  We  have  received  and  ap- 
propriated Jesus  Christ,  and  He  is  now  in  us 
the  staff  and  strength  of  a  life  which  is  ever- 
lasting. Indeed,  all  are  dying  men  who  are 
without  this  Bread.  Only  those  live  to  God 
and  are  beyond  the  bitterness  of  death  who 
have  received  the  Lord  Jesus  to  dwell  in 
their  hearts  by  faith. 

Great  ingenuity  has  been  displayed  by  a 
certain  school  of  divines  in  enumerating 
points  of  correspondence  or  coincidence  be- 
tween the  manna  and  the  True  Bread  which 
is  Christ.  Witsius  gives  twenty  -  six ;  but 
it  is  more  profitable  to  ourselves,  as  well  as 
more  consonant  with  the  dignity  of  the  sub- 
ject, to  let  the  mind  rest  on  a  few  simple 
and  strong  analogies.  Thus: — (1.)  In  each 
case  a  Divine  provision  is  made  for  human 
want,  and  made  both  copiously  and  freely. 
(2.)  In  each  instance  the  free  gift  profits 
those  only  who  receive  it  and  take  it  home. 
The  manna  was  free  to  every  Israelite  for 
the  support  of  his  life  ;  but  he  must  needs 
o-ather  it  within  assigned  limits  of  time,  and 


LIVING  BREAD.  299 

carry  it  into  his  tent.  So  Christ  is  free  to 
every  man  in  order  to  an  eternal  life,  but 
profits  only  those  who  receive  Him  within 
"the  accepted  time,"  and  take  Him  to  their 
homes  and  to  their  hearts.  (3.)  The  manna 
was  a  daily  bread,  yielding  a  continuous 
nourishment.  So  Christ  is,  in  an  ineffable 
manner,  a  continuous  spiritual  bread,  through 
the  habitual  action  of  faith.  Christians  live 
day  after  day  by  each  day's  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God. 

The  first  gift  of  manna  bread  was  accom- 
panied by  a  supply  of  "flesh"  in  the  wil- 
derness. Jehovah  gave  this  announcement 
through  His  servant  Moses  —  "At  even  ye 
shall  eat  flesh,  and  in  the  morning  ye  shall 
be  filled  with  bread."  *  Probably  it  was  the 
recollection  of  this  which  led  our  Saviour  to 
speak  at  Capernaum  of  flesh  as  well  as  bread. 
He  showed  that  both  were  fulfilled  in  Him — 
"  The  bread  is  My  flesh."  Here  He  went 
farther  than  the  metaphor  of  the  well  of 
water  allowed  Him  to  go  at  Sychar.  He 
indicated  the  offering  of  Himself  in  sacrifice 

*  Exod.  xvi.  12. 


3oo  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

"  for  the  life  of  the  world."  He  is  the  Bread 
which  sustains  the  everlasting  life  of  be- 
lievers, forasmuch  as  He  was  slain  for  them, 
and  now  lives  as  one  who  has  passed  through 
death,  and  dies  no  more. 

This  farther  development  of  the  metaphor 
puzzled  the  multitude.  They  asked,  half  in 
horror,  half  in  ridicule,  how  "this  Man" 
could  give  His  own  flesh  to  them  to  eat  ?  What 
strange  doctrine  of  cannibalism  was  this  ? 

Superstition  gives  an  explanation  which 
neither  our  Lord  nor  auy  of  His  apostles 
so  much  as  hinted  at.  It  assumes  that  Christ 
referred  to  the  Last  Supper.  No  wonder,  if 
so,  that  the  people  could  not  understand  His 
teaching,  as  they  could  not  have  known  any 
thing  of  an  ordinance  which  was  yet  in  the 
future.  And  then  it  breaks  away  from  figure 
and  metaphor  altogether.  It  takes  a  piece  of 
actual  bread,  and  supposes  it,  while  unchanged 
in  its  appearance  and  qualities,  to  be  really  trans- 
muted into  the  actual  body  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Then  this  wonderful  substance  is  received  by 
the  mechanical  process  of  swallowing,  and 
so   a  mystic  sacramental   grace   is   conveyed 


LIVING  BREAD.  301 

to  the  soul.  But,  as  Dean  Stanley  has  well 
said,  "to  suppose  that  the  material  can  of 
itself  reach  the  spiritual  is  not  religion,  but 
mao-ic  : "  *  and  the  dogma  of  transubstantia- 
tion  is  no  answer  at  all  to  the  question  of 
eating  the  flesh  and  drinking  the  blood  of 
the  Son  of  Man.  It  is  a  doctrine  of  magic, 
not  of  godly  faith.  It  outrages  common 
sense,  insults  reason,  contradicts  the  evi- 
dence of  four  of  the  five  senses  of  man- 
kind, and  at  the  same  time  breaks  every 
rule  of  consistent  interpretation,  confuses  the 
material  with  the  spiritual,  and  degrades  the 
sublime  truth  of  our  Lord's  unition  with  His 
people  by  faith  into  a  mechanical  action  of 
the  mouth  and  gullet. 

We  turn  from  superstition  to  that  Chris- 
tian Rationalism  which  is  a  reaction  from 
it,  and  which  spreads  under  the  fine  title  of 
"Broad  Church  tendencies."  This  takes  a 
practically  Socinian  view  of  the  mission  and 
work  of  Jesus  Christ.     He  was  a  Divine  Man, 

*  Christian  Institutions,  p.  107-  We  regret,  however,  to 
say  that  the  chapter  on  "The  Body  and  Blood"  in  this 
interesting  volume  is  very  unsatisfactory. 


302  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

a  profound  Teacher,  and  a  perfect  Exemplar 
of  virtue.  But  we  ask  any  one  to  explain 
to  us,  on  this  theory,  how  this  Man  can 
give  us  His  flesh  to  eat.  Is  not  the  say- 
ing paradoxical  ?  Is  it  not  even  presump- 
tuous ?  What  meaning  can  there  be  in  a 
man,  however  good,  and  wise,  being  bread 
from  heaven  for  the  everlasting;  life  of  his 
fellow-men,  or  giving  his  flesh  for  the  life 
of  the  world  ?  The  rationalistic  theory  has 
no  answer.  It  has  much  to  say  about  the 
admirable  precepts  of  Jesus ;  but  over  this 
sublime  revelation  of  Himself  and  His  rela- 
tion to  the  life  of  the  world  it  is  perplexed. 
For  our  part,  we  are  quite  persuaded  that 
only  the  doctrine  of  the  hypostatic  union 
of  divinity  and  humanity  in  the  person  of 
Christ  taken  with  the  doctrine  of  His  sacri- 
ficial death  can  explain  or  justify  such  words 
as  He  uttered  in  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum. 
Happy  they  who  are  firmly  established  in 
these  truths,  and  who,  alike  in  reading  or 
hearing  the  Word  and  in  observing  the  Lord's 
Supper,  receive  Jesus  Christ  into  their  hearts 
by  faith  with  thanksgiving  ! 


LIVING  BREAD.  303 

Sometimes  one  may  find  a  ghastly  and 
perverted  shadow  of  sacred  truth  among 
the  credulous  notions  and  cruel  customs  of 
the  heathen.  Among  many  tribes  it  has 
been  held  that  to  drink  the  blood  of  a 
brave  man  will  make  one  brave,  and  to  eat 
the  heart  of  a  hero,  though  an  enemy, 
will  make  one  strong  and  daring.  Hence 
many  hideous  orgies  after  battle  between 
savages. 

Such  is  the  coarse  carnal  conception  of  the 
transfusion  of  one  life  into  another.  For  the 
ends  which  a  Christian  life  contemplates,  we 
have  the  Lord's  authority  for  saying  that 
"  the  flesh  profits  nothing."  The  words  which 
He  spoke  at  Capernaum  were  spirit  and  life. 
What  He  imparts  for  eternal  life  can  be 
received  through  the  spiritual  organs  only, 
acting  according  to  His  Word.  So  Christians 
are  partakers  of  Christ,  but  partakers  by  faith, 
which  is  the  spiritual  organ  or  faculty  for 
receiving,  appropriating,  absorbing,  or,  if  we 
may  so  speak,  incorporating  "spiritual  meat" 
and  "  spiritual  drink."  So  His  life  is  infused 
and  His  Spirit  is  breathed,  and  His  disposi- 


304  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

tion  of  loyalty  to  God,  devotion  to  righteous- 
ness, meekness  and  lowliness  of  heart  are 
formed  in  those  that  believe. 

"  Lord  !  evermore  give  us  this  Bread  ! 
Thy  flesh  is  meat  indeed  ;  and  Thy  blood  drink  indeed  ! " 


(    3o5    ) 


XXX. 

DAY    AND    NIGHT. 

"  We  must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  Jay  : 
the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." — St.  John  ix.  4. 

To  speak  of  life  and  death  as  day  and  night 
is  so  natural  that  one  does  not  think  of  it 
as  a  metaphor.  The  illustration  is  among  all 
authors  and  in  all  languages.  It  is  also  in 
common  speech.  Every  man  has  his  day. 
One  has  a  longer  day,  another  a  shorter. 
One  has  a  bright,  another  a  shaded  or  even  a 
stormy  day.  Then  night  falls,  perhaps  sud- 
denly, as  in  the  Tropics,  where  there  is  no  twi- 
light, and  it  is  dark  whenever  the  sun  goes 
down ;  perhaps  with  a  gentle  and  gradual  de- 
scent, as  in  the  far  North  or  far  South,  where 
daylight  lingers  long  and  slowly  fades  away. 

The  metaphor  easily  lends  itself  to  the 
frequent,  and  not  always  reasonable,  com- 
plaints of  the  shortness  of  our  earthly  exist- 


3o6  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

ence.     Only  a  day  !     So  our  old  poet  Quarles 
wrote  of  life— 

"  Whose  glory  in  one  day  doth  fill  the  stage 

With  childhood,  manhood,  and  decrepit  age." 

Jesus  Christ,  we  may  be  sure,  used  the  illus- 
tration  in   no   querulous   sense,  but   with   a 
purpose    worthy    of    His    most    genial    and 
heavenly   wisdom.       He   would    impress    on 
His  disciples  the  value   of  time  aad  oppor- 
tunity, and  admonish  them  to  lay  out  their 
one   and   only   day    to   good    account.      His 
own  lifetime,  and  more  especially  the  years 
allotted  to  His  public  career,  formed  His  day. 
Abraham  foresaw  it,   and  was  glad;    though 
his  degenerate  offspring  strove  to  make  Christ's 
day  bitter  by  their  enmity,  and  even  to  cut 
it  short  by  violence. #     Now  the  Lord  knew 
well  that  His  would  be  a  short  and  troubled 
day,  but  was  content  and  tranquil   through 
His  perfect  trust  in  the  Heavenly  Father,  who 
had  appointed  to  Him  both  His  work  and  His 
time.     No   plot    of  the  Jews   could   shorten 
His   allotted   day' by   one    hour.      It   would 

*  St.  John  viii.  39,  40,  56. 


DAY  AND  NIGHT.  307 

end  when  the  limit  assigned  to  it  by  the 
Father  was  reached,  and  when  the  work  com- 
mitted by  the  Father  to  the  Son  was  accom- 
plished. 

Jesus  had  said  to  the  Jews,  that  if  they 
were  really  Abraham's  children,  they  would 
".do  the  works  of  Abraham."  Their  con- 
duct indicated  rather  that  they  were  children 
of  the  Devil.  Then  He  taught  the  disciples 
that  He,  as  the  Son  of  God,  "must  work 
the  works  of  God."  And  if  the  Eevised  Text 
be  correct  in  reading  "  we  "  instead  of  "  I,"  He 
invited  the  apostles  to  spend  their  day  in  the 
same  obedience. 

The  work  of  God  which  our  Master  was 
about  to  perform  was  opening  the  eyes  of 
a  man  who  had  been  born  blind.  In  this  we 
may  not  be  able  to  follow  Him  ;  but  in  the 
general  direction  and  use  of  life  and  its 
opportunities,  we  may,  we  must.  He  is  our 
model,  alike  in  the  character  of  His  occupa- 
tions, which  illustrated  both  the  righteousness 
and  the  mercy  of  God,  and  in  the  perseverance 
with  which,  in  the  face  of  difficulty  and  "  con- 
tradiction of  sinners,"  He  continued  His  obedi- 


308  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

ence  till  all  was  accomplished,  and  He  could 
say  to  the  Father,  "  I  have  glorified  Thee  on 
the  earth  ;  I  have  finished  the  work  which 
Thou  gavest  Me  to  do."  * 

The  first  thought  regarding-  life-work  which 
presses  upon  men  is  this  prosaic  one,  that  they 
must  work  in  order  to  live  at  all ;  must  by  some 
sort  of  exertion  win  their  daily  bread.  Prac- 
tically this  is  a  universal  law,  and  one  that 
conduces  to  health  and  virtue.  The  excep- 
tions to  it  are  not  so  great  or  so  many  as 
a  superficial  observer  may  suppose;  for  there 
are  many  kinds  of  labour,  and  a  thoroughly 
idle  man  is  rare.  Nor  is  the  idler  to  be  en- 
vied. He  is  usually  discontented,  and  always 
trivial. 

Jesus  Christ  did  not  claim  exemption  from  the 
rule  that  man  must  work  in  order  to  subsist. 
There  is  no  cause  to  doubt  that  in  the  years  of 
His  obscurity  at  Nazareth  He  wrought  with  His 
own  hands,  and  so  earned  the  plain  bread  of  a 
carpenter's  table.  If  afterwards,  while  labour- 
ing early  and  late  in  His  prophetic  office,  He 
accepted  the   ministrations  of   others  to    His 

*  St.  John  xvii.  4. 


DAY  AND  NIGHT.  309 

necessity,  or  availed  Himself  of  the  hospitality 
of  those  who  invited  Him  into  their  houses, 
He  did  what  Eastern  .prophets  and  teachers 
have  always  done,  and  discontinued  manual 
work  only  that  He  might  devote  Himself 
without  hindrance  to  that  higher  walk  of 
duty  which  was  appointed  to  Him  by  the 
Father.  Thus  our  Saviour,  in  His  humanity, 
knows  the  law  of  daily  labour,  and  loves  to 
see  His  followers  industrious  in  their  earthly 
callings  and  "  diligent  in  business."  On  this, 
however,  we  need  not  dilate.  Men  are  held  to 
this  by  sheer  necessity,  or  by  the  desire  to 
accumulate  property.  There  is  more  need  to 
dwell  on  the  obligations  of  the  heavenly  call- 
ing, and  the  diligence  which  Christians  ought 
to  show  in  working-  the  works  of  God. 

o 

The  first  work  is  to  believe  on  Him  whom 
God  has  sent.""  And  this  excludes  at  once  all 
thought  of  working  from  and  for  ourselves  in 
order  to  our  justification  and  salvation.  We 
are  justified  by  faith  ;  we  are  saved  by  grace. 
"It  is  not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should 
boast."      "  Not    by    works    of   righteousness 

*  St.  John  vi.  28,  29. 


3io  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  His 
mercy  God  saved  us."  If  anything  is  plainly 
taught  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  that  no 
claim  of  human  merit  to  the  favour  of  God 
can  be  established.  Our  good  works,  if  we 
venture  so  to  call  them,  cannot  obliterate 
or  compensate  for  our  misdeeds.  At  the  best, 
they  are  faulty  and  imperfect,  and  can  hardly 
answer  for  themselves.  Divine  grace  is  our 
only  refuge.  Yet  this  must  not  be  turned 
into  a  bed  of  sloth,  nor  the  denial  of  human 
merit  made  a  pretence  for  neglecting  or  dis- 
couraging personal  exertion.  The  Law  said — 
Do  and  live !  The  Gospel  says — Live  and 
do !  Grace  does  not  dispense  with  doing, 
but,  in  order  to  it,  supplies  the  motive  and 
the  strength. 

He  who  is  saved  by  grace  is  required  to 
"work  out  his  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling."  "What  the  Spirit  of  God  works 
in  by  the  Word  of  truth  the  Christian  is  to 
work  out  in  practice,  i.e.,  to  develop  and 
bring  to  manifestation  and  fruit-bearing.  This, 
as  every  one  knows  who  honestly  tries  it,  is 


DAY  AND  NIGHT.  311 

arduous  work,  and  needs  most  close  attention. 
It  is  the  great  task  of  self-discipline.  It  is  to 
exercise  the  understanding,  cultivate  the  con- 
science,  and  "  above  all  keeping,"  keep,  the 
heart.  It  is  to  practise  temperance  in  all 
things,  striving  for  the  mastery  over  passion 
and  its  various  incitements.  It  is  to  "  mortify 
our  members  which  are  upon  the  earth."  It 
is  to  "  give  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and 
election  sure." 

Moreover,  there  is  the  obligation  to  "do 
good  to  all  men  as  we  have  opportunity,  espe- 
cially to  those  who  are  of  the  household  of 
faith."  This  is  the  sort  of  work  most  obvi- 
ously suggested  by  the  language  of  our  Lord ; 
and,  indeed,  the  care  of  our  own  spiritual  life 
is  apt  to  become  morbid  unless  it  is  accom- 
panied by  unselfish  exertion  for  the  temporal 
and  eternal  benefit  of  others.  Every  child  of 
God  should  delight  in  mercy.  Every  believer 
in  Christ  should  walk  in  the  steps  of  His  un- 
wearied beneficence. 

For  all  there  is  but  a  day.  Work  while  the 
day  lasts  !    The  time  is  long  enough  for  glori- 


312  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

fying  God  and  finishing  the  work,  if  it  be  well 
employed,  but  too  short  to  allow  a  margin  for 
trifling.  It  is  well  when  men  begin  early  to 
attend  to  the  things  of  the  Heavenly  Father, 
as  Jesus  did,  and  commence  the  Chris- 
tian life  in  the  morning  of  the  natural 
life.  It  is  well  to  do  as  Old  Testament 
worthies  did  when  they  had  a  Divine  errand 
to  fulfil.  They  "gat  up  early  in  the  morn- 
mg." 

Alas !  some  are  no  more  than  morning-  Chris- 
tians.  They  promise  well  in  childhood,  but 
as  their  morning  passes  on  to  noon,  they  fall 
away.  Their  goodness  is  "like  a  morning 
cloud,  and  like  the  dew  which  quickly  passes 
away."  *  Others  postpone  their  religion  till 
the  evening.  They  trust  to  the  sobering  effect 
of  age  and  the  solemn  thoughts  which  the 
decline  of  life  suggests  to  all.  They  run  a 
dreadful  risk,  for  the  night  may  come  sud- 
denly and  cut  off  all  their  hopes;  and  even 
if  they  do  find  time  to  seek  and  serve  God 
at  last,  it  is  a  poor  homage  to  Him  to  offer 

*  Hosea  vi.  4. 


DAY  AND  NIGHT.  313 

the  flagging  energies  and  very  dregs  of  life. 
Evening  is  no  time  for  beginning  the  Chris- 
tian course.  Men  ought  to  devote  their  whole 
life-day  to  learning  the  will  of  God  and  doing 
His  works. 

"The  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." 
This  statement  does  not  hold  good  of  night  in 
our  Western  countries,  where  so  many  toil  by 
artificial  light  all  through  the  night  in  iron 
and  steel  works,  where  the  furnaces  are  never 
allowed  to  cool ;  in  mines,  where  there  is  a 
"night-shift;"  in  printing-offices,  and  on  rail- 
ways. But  in  Palestine  and  throughout  Syria 
the  rule  is  absolute  that  work  ceases  when 
the  sun  goes  down.  It  is  not  the  custom  to 
go  abroad  at  night  even  for  amusement,  and 
work  is  not  attempted.  The  poor,  dim  lamp- 
light is  of  itself  sufficient  to  forbid  night 
labour.  So  the  contrast  is  maintained  which 
was  expressed  by  one  of  the  old  Hebrew 
bards.  The  beasts  of  the  forest  prowl  forth 
at  night,  and  at  sunrise  "  lay  themselves  down 
in  their  dens."  Man,  on  the  contrary,  begins 
his  activity  in  the  morning.     He  "  goes  forth 


314  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

unto   his  work  and   labour   until   the    even- 


IJ   A'* 


Some  have  thought  it  scarcely  worthy  of 
the  Lord  to  describe  the  end  of  a  good  and 
obedient  life  as  dark  and  silent  night.  Such 
language  has  appeared  to  them  to  savour  of 
Old  Testament  dimness,  or  even  of  heathen 
gloom,  concerning  the  future  state.  But  it 
should  be  observed  that  night  is  here  de- 
scribed as  following  day  in  order  that  rest 
may  follow  toil.  In  this  view  it  is  not  black 
or  appalling.  It  is  welcome  to  those  who  have 
spent  a  long  and  busy  day.  How  beautiful  is 
night !  How  good  it  is  when  "  He  gives  His 
beloved  sleep ! " 

It  is  not  eternal  sleep.  The  night  endures 
only  till  the  day  of  glory  breaks  from  heaven. 
0  happy  morning  when  the  Lord  shall  appear 
and  the  sleeping  saints  shall  rise  to  meet  Him 
— none  of  them  old  or  feeble,  but  all  in  fresh 
vigour  for  the  service  of  their  God  and  King ! 
Then  shall  they  go  forth  again  to  work  the 
works  of  God  ;  but  we  must  not  say  "  till  the 

*  Ps.  civ.  20-23. 


[  DAY  AND  NIGHT.  315 

evening."     There  is  no  end  to  that  life  ;  there 
is  no  night  in  heaven. 

"  Pray  that  when  thy  life  is  closing, 
Calm  reposing, 
Thou  mayst  die,  and  not  in  pain  ; 
That,  the  night  of  death  departed, 

Thou,  glad-hearted, 
Mayst  behold  the  Sun  again."  * 


*  Von  Canitz  in  Lyra  Germanica. 


(    3*    ) 


XXXI. 

THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD. 

"  I  am  the  door :  by  Me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved,  and 
shall  go  in  and  go  out,  and  shall  find  pasture.  ...  I  am  the  Good 
Shepherd  :  the  good  shepherd  layeth  down  his  life  for  the  sheep." — 
St.  John  x.  9,  11. 

Is  this  an  instance  of  mixed  metaphor  ?  Not 
so  much  so  as  may  appear  to  those  who  do 
not  know  or  bear  in  mind  the  pastoral  usages 
of  the  East.  Sheepfolds  there  are  open  spaces 
surrounded  by  solid  stone  walls.  They  are 
for  the  protection  of  flocks  from  robbers  and 
from  beasts  of  prey,  and  have  but  one  narrow 
gate  for  entrance  and  for  exit.  The  shepherd 
is  not  a  servant  hired  for  wages,  but  the  owner 
of  the  sheep,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  has 
the  right  of  entrance  into  the  fold  by  the  gate 
or  door.  If  he  has  a  man  in  charge  as  porter, 
at  his  approach  the  porter  opens.  Thieves  and 
robbers  have  to  climb  over  the  wall. 


THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD.  317 

Indeed,  the  shepherd  may  himself  be  called 
the  door.  He  stands  there  as  the  sheep  pass 
in  or  pass  out,  examines  them  one  by  one  to 
see  that  none  has  been  hurt,  and  counts  them 
to  make  sure  that  not  one  has  been  lost.  It 
is  at  his  bidding  that  they  seek  the  fold  for 
shelter.  He  goes  before  and  leads  them 
thither.  Again,  it  is  at  his  bidding  that  they 
go  out  to  find  pasture ;  and  when  he  has 
passed  them  through  the  gate,  he  shows  them 
the  way,  and  they  follow  his  steps.  The 
shepherd  leads  them  in  and  out. 

As  between  the  Arab  and  his  horse,  so 
also  between  the  Syrian  shepherd  and  his 
sheep  the  relation  is  very  intimate.  They 
have  a  perfect  mutual  understanding.  They 
spend  long  hours  together  in  solitary  places, 
share  the  same  dangers,  and  are  companions 
both  in  storm  and  in  sunshine.  The  shepherd 
"  cares  for  the  sheep,"  knows  one  from  another 
by  minute  marks  unnoticed  by  a  stranger, 
and  calls  them  individually  by  name.  The 
sheep  in  turn  recognise  their  human  friend 
and  guardian,  grow  familiar  with  his  voice, 
come  at  his  call,  tread  in  his  steps.     So  the 


31 8  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

sheep,  by  their  attachment  to  him,  are  kept 
from  straying  into  danger,  while  he,  on  his 
part,  keeps  a  vigilant  eye  upon  them,  and  is 
ready  at  a  moment  to  rescue  any  one  of  them 
from  danger.  A  shepherd  in  Palestine  is 
always  armed,  and  will  use  his  weapon  rather 
than  let  any  beast  of  prey,  or  any  robber, 
pluck  a  sheep  out  of  his  care. 

How  dear  to  Christ  are  His  redeemed 
people — His  own  sheep  !  How  dear  should 
Christ  be  to  them ! 

The  illustration  comes  down  from  the  Old 
Testament,  in  which  appeal  is  made  to 
Jehovah  as  the  Shepherd  of  Israel,  who  had 
led  His  people  as  a  flock  "  by  the  hand  of 
Moses  and  Aaron."  *  The  rulers  in  the  Theo- 
cracy were  official  shepherds  under  Jehovah, 
and  when  they  were  unfaithful  to  their  trust, 
they  were  sharply  censured  "in  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Prophets.t  At  the  time  when  Christ 
appeared,  the  under-shepherds  of  the  chosen 
people  had  quite  lost  the  true  pastoral  affec- 
tion, and  were  oppressing  and  scattering  the 
flock.     Then    He   proclaimed  a  new  mission 

*  Ps.  lxxx.  i.  t  See  Jer.  xxiii. ;  Ezek.  xxxiv. 


THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD.  319 

from  God  to  the  "  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel."  And  other  sheep  He  had  given  to 
Him  from  among  the  Gentiles,  whom  He 
would  gather  into  the  one  flock  of  God. 

The  saying,  "  I  am  the  Good  Shepherd,"  is 
one  of  those  phrases  of  self-assertion  which 
are  so  significant  as  proceeding  from  the  lips 
of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus.  It  is  in  the 
same  category  with  "  I  am  the  Light  of  the 
World;"  "lam  the  Bread  of  Life;"  "I  am 
the  True  Vine," — phrases  all  of  them  which 
let  him  pronounce  exaggerated  who  dare,  but 
which  we  must  regard  as  the  expression  of  a 
conscious  relation  to  the  life  of  all  mankind, 
and  of  a  sublime  power  to  save. 

St.  Peter,  who  had  himself  been  specially 
charged  to  feed  the  sheep  and  lambs  of  Christ, 
writes  of  his  Master  as  "  the  Chief  Shepherd." 
The  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
calls  Him  "  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep." 
The  rouodi  drawings  found  in  the  Eoman  Cata- 
combs  show  how  dear  the  thousrkt   of  this 

O 

Heavenly  Shepherd  was  to  the  early  Christians 
in  their  days  of  trial. 

The    epithet    "good"   refers   not  so  much 


320  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

to  benevolence  as  to  His  being  the  genuine 
Shepherd,  in  contrast  with  hirelings  who  cared 
not  for  the  sheep.  And  the  proofs  of  this  are 
two  : — 

I.  His  intimacy  ivith  the  flock. 

"  I  know  My  sheep,  and  am  known  of 
Mine."  He  is  the  Door  through  which  the)T 
pass  in  and  out,  or  the  Shepherd  at  the 
door  taking  cognisance  of  every  one.  And 
He  is  their  Keeper  in  the  open  field — taking 
notice  of  this  one  as  it  feeds,  and  that  one 
as  it  rests  beside  the  still  waters,  and  that 
other  as  it  thoughtlessly  strays  towards  the 
thicket  where  some  ravenous  beast  may  lurk. 
He  calls  each  by  name. 

In  turn,  the  sheep  know  Him,  and  there- 
fore trust,  obey,  and  follow  Him.  Whatever 
Christians  are  ignorant  of,  they  know  Christ. 
His  love  constrains  them ;  His  care  encom- 
passes them  on  every  side  so  that,  whether 
quietly  folded,  or  out  on  the  hillside  exposed 
to  dangers,  they  are  safe  with  Him.  And 
this  is  a  knowledge  which  grows  with  every 
day    of    Christian    experience.      The    Lord's 


THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD.  321 

people  may  discern  fresh  proofs  of  His 
presence  and  pastoral  care  every  day  and 
almost  every  hour,  in  checks  and  reverses 
as  well  a  3  in  encouragements  and  successes, 
in  supply  of  wants,  relief  of  apprehensions, 
help  for  infirmities,  in  the  signs  of  an  un- 
wearied patience  and  unfailing  sympathy. 

No  object  in  heaven  or  earth  can  induce 
this  Shepherd  to  forget  His  flock.  No  teacher 
or  guide  can  induce  the  flock  to  desert 
this  Shepherd.  A  stranger  they  will  not 
follow. 

II.  His  surrender  of  His  own  life  for  the 
sheep. 

A  wolf  or  a  robber  would  destroy ;  a  hire- 
ling would  flee  to  secure  his  own  safety, 
leaving  the  flock  to  be  ravaged;  but  the 
Good  Shepherd  was  ready  to  lay  down  His 
own  life  that  His  sheep  might  not  perish. 

"With  a  glorious  resignation  Jesus  saw  the 
approach  of  death.  The  fearful  Cross  was 
already  throwing  its  shadow  on  His  path  ; 
and  although  the  sacrificial  character  and 
purport   of  His   decease  at  Jerusalem  could 


322  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

not  yet  be  openly  declared  to  others,  to  His 
own  mind  all  was  clear.  He  was  to  be  slain 
by  the  wicked  and  unjust  hands  of  cruel  men ; 
but  in  submitting  to  this,  He  would  accom- 
plish the  redemption  of  His  flock.  To  God 
the  Father  Almighty  He  would  surrender 
His  life  and  pour  out  His  soul,  an  offering 
and  a  sacrifice.  In  Him  was  to  be  fulfilled 
the  ancient  oracle,  "  Awake,  0  sword,  against 
My  Shepherd,  against  the  Man  that  is  My 
fellow  (nearest  one)."  *  The  sword  of  the  Lord 
was  to  pierce  Him  for  the  transgressions  of 
His  people  to  be  gathered  out  of  all  nations  ; 
and  by  the  laying  down  of  His  life  they  are 
ransomed. 

He  had  power  to  lay  down  His  life,  and 
power  to  take  it  again.  In  His  retaken  or 
resurrection  life  He  is  now  watching  over 
His  flock  as  "the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of 
souls."  It  is  He  who  increases  the  flock  by 
going  after  lost  sheep  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  with  the  word  of  the  Gospel,  and  brings 
back  penitents  one  by  one.  It  is  He  who 
tends   and    nourishes    the    young    and  ^inex- 

*  Zech.  xiii.  7. 


THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD.  323 

perienced,  for  "  He  gathers  lambs  with  His 
arm,  and  carries  them  in  His  bosom."  Never 
sinner  returned  to  God  but  was  recovered  by 
this  Good  Shepherd  ;  never  a  young  beginner 
in  the  faith  grew  to  maturity  but  under  the 
patient  and  loving  care  of  Jesus.  It  is  He 
who  folds  His  flock  in  the  temporary  shelter 
appointed  for  the  Church  on  earth.  If  auy 
one  who  has  erred  and  straved  as  a  lost 
sheep,  but  has  repented,  be  afraid  or  ashamed 
to  join  himself  to  the  people  of  God,  let  him 
be  encouraged  by  the  double  metaphor  which 
is  the  theme  of  our  present  study,  and  lay 
it  to  heart  that  this  Shepherd  Himself  is 
the  Door.  He  gives  admission  to  whomso- 
ever He  will.  He  will  not  merely  let  in,  but 
carry  in  on  His  shoulder  a  lost  sheep  that 
He  has  found.  And  whom  Christ  admits, 
who  has  authority  to  exclude  ?  No  doubt 
there  is  a  porter  at  the  gate,  a  useful  servant. 
Let  this  represent  Church  regulation  and  dis- 
cipline, highly  useful  in  its  place  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  fold  from  the  inroad  of  the 
uugodly  and  the  profane.  But  this  is  right 
only  as  it  is  directed  by  the  mind  of  Christ, 


324  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  subordinated  to  His  word.  The  porter 
must  obey  the  Shepherd's  voice,  and  must 
open  the  gate  without  question  at  His  ap- 
proach. When  the  Lord  passes  in  or  carries 
in  a  lost  sheep  that  He  has  found,  the 
porter  has  nothing  to  do  but  stand  by  and 
rejoice. 

The  Lord  has  but  one  flock,  gathered  from 
north,  south,  east,  and  west.  In  this  world, 
however,  they  are  not  put  into  one  fold.  Every 
one  knows  that  the  expression  to  that  effect  in 
the  Authorised  Version  of  St.  John's  Gospel 
is  a  sheer  mistranslation.  It  has  done  much 
harm  in  its  time.  "  One  fold "  has  been  the 
watchword  of  those  who  have  insisted  on  con- 
formity to  one  visible  Church,  with  definite 
limits,  uniform  institutions,  and  universal 
authority.  But  the  watchword  is  nothing 
more  than  an  incorrect  rendering,  and  the 
assumption  based  upon  it  is  a  fallacy.  It 
ignores  a  great  distinction  between  the  Israel 
of  God  and  the  Church  of  God.  The  unity  of 
Israel  was  that  of  one  fold  as  well  as  one 
flock.  Around  the  chosen  nation  was  a  stone 
wall  of  "commandments  contained  in  ordin- 


THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD.  325 

ances,"  and  an  enforced  separation  from  other 
nations.  But  the  Church  is  one  flock  with 
many  folds.  To  attempt  to  build  a  uniform 
stone  wall  about  it  is  to  mistake  the  nature 
of  our  dispensation,  and  to  environ  the  free- 
men of  Christ  with  an  intolerable  tyranny. 
The  one  flock,  or  Church  catholic,  existed 
at  the  beginning,  and  exists  now,  in  "  the 
Churches"  which  are  folded  here  or  there  as  is 
most  convenient,  and  not  always  or  everywhere 
in  folds  of  the  same  shape  or  size,  but  with 
diversities  for  which  there  is  scope  enough 
without  any  real  disturbance  of  Church  unity. 
A  well-instructed  Christian  will  set  a  just 
value  on  the  fold,  but  will  not  exaggerate  its 
importance.  He  will  not  give  countenance  to 
separatists,  who  find  fault  with  all  established 
order,  and  love  to  draw  away  a  few  sheep 
into  some  self-chosen  nook,  where  they  com- 
placently regard  themselves  as  the  saints, 
the  holy  brethren,  the  faithful  few.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  will  never  disown  fellow- 
Christians  on  the  ground  that  they  are  not 
within  the  same  fold  with  himself.  A  certain 
amount  of  form  is  good,  but  no  form  is  indis- 


326  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

pensable  or  vital.  Let  the  best  form  of  fold 
be  learned  from  the  New  Testament  and  from 
Christian  history,  and  let  existing  forms  ,be 
respected  in  so  far  as  they  agree  with  the  ideal 
best.  But  form,  after  all,  is  only  form ;  and 
there  is  no  harm  in  variety  so  long  as  truth  is 
guarded,  life  cherished,  and  charity  increased. 
Whatever  the  style  of  fold,  that  man  is 
received  into  the  Church  of  God  who  is  ad- 
mitted by  the  Chief  Shepherd.  He  is  the 
Door.  And  whosoever  in  any  place  is  growing 
in  Christian  knowledge,  love,  and  steadfast- 
ness, gives  evidence  that  he  is  living  under 
the  same  Chief  Shepherd's  gracious  care.  No 
ecclesiastical  theory  can  be  true  which  would 
force  us  to  dispute  such  propositions  as  these. 
If  any  man  love  God  and  follow  after  right- 
eousness, it  is  because  the  Good  Shepherd  has 
taught  him  so  to  do.  If  any  man  be  nourished 
in  good  doctrine,  cheered  by  Divine  promises, 
kept  in  hours  of  temptation,  delivered  from 
the  bondage  of  evil  habit,  whatever  be  the 
mediate  influences  or  ministrations  employed, 
the  ultimate  reason  is  that  he  has  been  so 
nourished,  comforted,  preserved,  and  delivered 


THE  DOOR  AND  THE  SHEPHERD.  327 

by  Him  whose  "  own  the  sheep  are,"  and  who 
has  revealed  His  purpose  regarding  them  in 
these  memorable  words,  "I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life ;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  and 
no  one  shall  snatch  them  out  of  My  hand." 


(     3-8    ) 


XXXII. 

A    GRAIN    OF    WHEA  T. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into 
the  earth  and  die,  it  abideth  by  itself  alone ;  but  if  it  die,  it  beareth 
much  fruit.  He  that  loveth  his  life  loseth  it ;  and  he  that  hateth  his 
life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal." — St.  John  xii.  24,  25. 

It  was  a  significant  circumstance  that,  when 
the  Jews  were  hastening  to  a  final. rejection  of 
the  Messiah,  certain  Greeks  desired  that  they 
might  "see  Him."  The  time  of  exclusive 
ministry  to  "the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel "  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the  era  of 
grace  to  all  nations  was  at  hand.  Of  this 
there  is  distinct  indication  in  the  language 
of  Jesus  to  the  two  disciples  who  conveyed  to 
Him  the  request  of  the  Greeks,  probably  in 
the  hearing  of  those  anxious  or  curious  in- 
quirers. He  spoke  of  Himself  as  the  Son  of 
Man,  as  though  to  emphasise  His  kinship  in 
humanity  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to,  the 
Jews.     And  He  intimated  the  approach  of  a 


A   GRAIN  OF  WHEAT.  329 

time  when  He  would  cast  an  attractive  power 
over  all  nations.  Not  only  might  He  be 
seen  by  a  few  Greeks,  who  probably  were 
proselytes  of  the  gate,  having  come  up  to 
Jerusalem  for  the  Feast  of  the  Passover ;  He 
would  be  proclaimed  in  the  gospel  "to  every 
creature,"  without  distinction  of  nation  or 
locality.     He  would  draw  all  to  Himself. 

But  before  this  could  be,  Jesus  Christ  must 
needs  suffer  and  die.  An  unwelcome  truth 
this  to  the  disciples,  and  a  perplexing  one,  no 
doubt,  to  the  inquiring  Greeks ;  but  a  condi- 
tion of  His  success  which  profoundly  impressed 
the  soul  of  Jesus,  and  carried  with  it  a  far- 
reaching  lesson  for  His  Church  in  all  ages. 
He  was  to  be  lifted  up  on  the  Cross  in  order 
to  draw.  He  was  to  suffer  that  He  mio-ht 
enter  into  His  glory. 

The  occasion  accounts  for  the  terms  in 
which  our  Lord  foretold  His  death  and  its 
results.  There  was  no  reference  to  its  sacri- 
ficial import,  as  there  might  have  been  if  He 
had  been  speaking  exclusively  to  Jews  or 
Galileans  familiar  with  the  Old  Testament 
propitiatory  system.     There  was  no  statement 


330  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

of  the  Godward  aspect  and  efficacy  of  His 
death  as  an  atonement  for  sin.  The  view  of 
"His  decease  at  Jerusalem"  which  the  occa- 
sion suggested  aud  called  forth  was  that  it 
would  constitute  Him  a  Saviour  for  all  the 
nations,  and  so  glorify  Him  upon  the  earth. 

For  the  elucidation  of  this  view  the  grain 
of  wheat  was  a  happy  illustration.  While 
simple  and  easily  remembered,  it  set  forth  in 
a  most  instructive  manner  the  great  fact  and 
natural  law  of  death  and  resurrection  in  order 
to  fruitfulness.  The  metaphor  recurs  in  St. 
Paul's  famous  passage  on  the  resurrection  of 
"  the  dead  in  Christ."  "  That  which  thou 
sowest  is  not  quickened  except  it  die."  * 

Look  at  a  grain  of  wheat  as  it  may  lie  in 
your  hand  or  on  the  hard  surface  of  the 
ground.  It  is  a  thing  of  life,  but  cannot  show 
or  propagate  its  life  or  bring  forth  any  fruit. 
For  all  that  it  yields,  it  might  as  well  be  a 
little  stone  or  a  rough  grain  of  yellow  gravel. 
It  abides  alone.  Now  this  is  what  Jesus 
Christ  would  not  consent  to  be.  True  that 
He  was  alone  in  His  suffering  for  our  sin. 
*  i  Cor.  xv.  36-38,  43,  44. 


A   GRAIN  OF  WHEAT.  331 

Even  His  three  chosen  disciples  could  not 
watch  with  Him  one  hour  so  as  to  help  Him 
by  their  sympathy.  The  Father  was  with 
Him ;  but  on  the  Cross  He  was  absolutely 
alone,  as  indicated  by  the  pathetic  cry,  "  My 
God,  my  God  !  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me?" 
All  this,  however,  He  endured  that  He 
mio-ht  not  be  alone  in  the  asres  to  come.  In 
"  justifying  many "  He  would  "  see  of  the 
travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied."  #  He 
would  not  save  Himself  just  that  He  might 
save  others.  The  Shepherd  would  gather  a 
flock.  The  Bridegroom  would  redeem  and 
win  a  bride.  "It  is  not  good  that  the  man 
should  be  alone."  The  Prince  of  Life,  rising 
again  out  of  death,  would  give  life  to  the 
world,  and  all  His  followers  would  be  sharers 
of  His  own  fruit-bearing  life,  and  so  ultimately 
of  His  heavenly  rest  and  glory. 

But  as  the  grain  of  wheat,  if  not  sown  in 
the  earth,  abides  alone,  so  Jesus  Christ  would 
have  failed  of  His  great  purpose  if  He  had 
not  died.  No  doubt  His  personal  character 
and  history  would  have  made   a  certain   im- 

*  Isaiah  liii.  II. 


332  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

pression,  and  His  teaching  might  have  trans- 
mitted His  name  to  future  generations  as  that 
of  the  most  profound  and  spiritual  of  all  the 
Jewish  Rabbis ;  but  from  Him  could  have 
proceeded  no  vitalising  power.  There  would 
have  been  neither  redemption  nor  regenera- 
tion of  men.  If  Jesus  had  not  endured  the 
Cross,  or  if,  after  He  was  nailed  upon  it  and 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  He  had  "  come  down 
from  the  Cross  "  at  the  challenge  of  the  mock- 
ing  bystanders,  He  would  never  have  been  a 
Redeemer  or  a  Prince  of  Life  to  others.  He 
would  not  have  taken  even  one  of  the  children 
of  men  to  Paradise.  He  would  have  continued 
alone. 

Take  the  grain  of  wheat  to  the  ploughed 
field,  and  sow  or  hide  it  in  the  earth.  There 
ensues  a  marvellous  change.  The  berry  *  dis- 
solves or  dies,  and  lo  !  a  plant  of  wheat  strik- 
ing root  in  the  soil  and  sending  up  a  green 

*  "  The  original  word  is  not  sperma,  a  seed,  but  Jcokkos,  a 
berry,  a  fruit.  It  shows  the  extreme,  even  scientific,  accuracy 
of  our  Saviour's  language*;  for  the  corn  of  wheat,  and  other 
cereal  grains,  consist  of  seeds  incorporated  with  seed-vessels, 
and  are  in  reality  fruits,  although  they  appear  like  seeds.  It 
is  not  the  bare  seed  that  falls  into  the  ground,  and,  by  dying, 
yields  much  fruit,  but  the  corn  of  wheat — the  whole  fruit 
with  its  husk-like  coverings." — MacMillan's  "  True  Vine," 
p.  166,  3d  edit. 


A  GRAIN  OF  WHEAT.  333 

blade  above  the  surface,  which  becomes  a  strong 
stalk  and  bears  a  head  of  corn.  The  wheat 
which  was  found  in  the  hand  of  an  Egyptian 
mummy  had  not  lost  its  reproductive  power 
through  all  the  long  ages  while  it  continued 
shut  up  and  "  alone."  So  soon  as  it  was  sown 
in  the  earth,  it  died  and  lived  again,  bringing 
forth  much  fruit.  One  grain  of  wheat  passing 
through  this  process  produces  many  grains. 
So  Jesus  phrist,  through  death  and  resurrec- 
tion, was  to  yield  fruit  abundantly. 

The  rationale  of  the  vegetable  reproduc- 
tion no  one  can  fully  explain.  Little  wonder, 
then,  that  the  spiritual  transformation  which 
it  is  here  taken  to  illustrate  should  baffle  our 
analysis.  But  the  fact  is  beyond  doubt  to 
any  one  who  believes  the  sayings  of  Christ. 
By  dying  and  rising  again  He  gives  life  to 
the  world.  He  does  not,  He  cannot,  "  continue 
alone."  Every  day  His  fruit  is  on  the  increase. 
And  as  we  see  the  attractive  power  of  the 
Saviour  over  all  nations,  new  disciples  gained, 
new  trophies  of  salvation  won,  new  congrega- 
tions gathered,  new  missions  opened,  the  name 
of  Jesus  growing  greater  and  His  influence 
more  extensive   in   all  regions  of  the  earth, 


334  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

/ 
what  can  we  think  of  it  all  but  that  "  the  corn 

of  wheat "  that  died  at  Jerusalem  is  bringinor 

forth  much  fruit  ? 

We  have  said  that  the  condition  of  our 
Lord's  success  here  illustrated  conveys  a  far- 
reaching  lesson  to  His  Church.  Jesus  did 
not  leave  this  to  be  inferred.  He  taught  it 
explicitly.  The  case  of  the  Son  of  Man  was 
to  be  the  supreme  instance,  but  far  from  the 
only  instance,  of  a  great  principle  or  law  of 
success.  Men  are  saved  not  merely  by  the 
grace  of  Christ,  but  in  and  through  a  process 
of  conformity  to  Him.  They,  after  His  ex- 
ample, make  a  self-surrender  and  self-oblation 
in  order  to  a  higher  life  and  fruitfulness. 

Before  our  Lord  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
suffer,  He  said  some  weighty  words  to  this 
effect  in  the  hearing  of  a  great  multitude,  who 
followed  Him  with  a  very  inadequate  concep- 
tion of  what  might  be  involved  in  adherence 
to  Him  and  to  His  gospel.  "  If  any  man  come 
unto  Me,  and  hate  not  his  own  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren, 
and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  My  disciple.  Whosoever  doth  not 
bear  his  own  cross,  and  come  after  Me*  can- 


A  GRAIN  OF  WHEAT.  335 

not  be  My  disciple."  *  Through  this  severe 
ordeal,  in  a  very  literal  sense,  the  apostles  and 
primitive  Christians  had  to  pass,  surrendering 
intimacies,  forfeiting  friendships,  conferring 
not  with  flesh  and  blood  of  their  nearest 
kindred,  enduring  reproach  from  their  neigh- 
bours, "  taking  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their 
goods,"  and  putting  life  itself  in  peril  for  their 
Divine  Master's  name.  Many  even  of  those  who 
were  favourably  disposed  towards  Him  must 
have  shrunk  from  such  an  abandonment  of  all 
for  His  sake.  They  could  not  be  His  disciples. 
But  to  hate  one's  own  life !  Is  this  possible  ? 
And,  if  possible,  is  it  right  ?  Our  Lord  evi- 
dently used  the  phrase  in  the  sense  of  not 
clinging  to  life  or  counting  it  dear.  And  at 
Jerusalem  He  returned  to  the  point  with  one 
of  those  paradoxical  terms  of  expression  which 
He  sometimes  employed  the  better  to  drive 
home  His  teachings.  "He  that  loveth  his 
life  loseth  it,  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in 
this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal." 
That  it  is  both  possible  and  right  to  sub- 
ordinate the  love  of  life  to  great  and  worthy 
objects    surely    needs    no    argument.       Both 

*  St.  Lu£e  x.iv.  26,  27. 


336  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

heathens  and  Christians  judge  that  patriots 
have  done  well  to  die  for  their  country. 
Men  stationed  at  critical  posts  of  duty,  on 
whose  continuance  there  many  lives  have 
depended  in  some  hour  of  danger,  have  done 
well  to  die  at  their  posts.  In  like  manner 
the  martyrs  have  done  well  who  dared  to 
die  rather  than  repudiate  or  dishonour  Christ. 
Long  before  St.  Paul  finished  his  course  by 
martyrdom  he  died  daily.  Far  from  loving 
his  own  life,  he  poured  it  out  without  stint 
in  the  service  of  Christ  and  the  Church.  He 
was  almost  too  "  ready  to  die  at  Jerusalem 
for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus ; "  and  he 
wrote  with  a  fine  glow  of  feeling  to  his 
much-cherished  brethren  at  Philippi,  "  Yea, 
and  if  I  am  offered  upon  the  sacrifice  (poured 
out  as  a  drink-offering)  and  service  of  your 
faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice  with  you  all."  #  There 
were  many  of  the  same  self-devoting  spirit, 
e.g.,  Epaphroditus,  "who  for  the  work  of  Christ 
came  nigh  unto  death,  hazarding  his  life."  t 

It  is  proper  to  note  that  when  our  Lord 
spoke  of  a  life  to  be  loved  or  hated,  and  of 
a  life  eternal  to  be  gained,  He  used  two  quite 
*  Phil.  ii.  17.  *     f  Phil.  ii.  30. 


A  GRAIN  OF  WHEAT.  337 

distinct  words.  The  former,  which  is  rendered 
"the  soul"  in  the  margin  of  the  Bevised 
Version,  is  the  ^x^ ;  the  latter  is  %wn.  The 
former  is  that  life  of  sensation  and  natural 
desire  which  sickness  weakens  and  death  ter- 
minates. It  feels  at  home  in  the  "  psychical 
body,"  and  seeking  satisfaction  largely  through 
the  body,  shrinks  from  loss  and  pain  and  all 
that  threatens  its  dissolution.  Of  this  the 
Lord  said  that  if  a  man  cares  more  for  the 
mortal  life  and  its  enjoyments  than  for  Him, 
he  cannot  be  His  disciple.  And,  far  from 
speaking  as  many  religious  people  nowadays 
do,  of  the  love  of  souls,  Jesus  Christ  said  that 
if  a  man  egotistically  loves  and  pets  his  own 
soul,  he  loses  it.  He  overreaches  himself. 
Not  using  life  unselfishly  for  Christ  and  the 
promotion  of  mercy  and  truth,  he  makes 
nothing  of  it  but  failure.  He  may  seem  to 
prosper,  and  may  have  length  of  days  ;  but 
the  issue  is — a  lost  soul. 

On  the  other  hand,  whosoever  holds  this 
present  life  with  its  desires  and  capacities 
in  subordination  to  Christ  and  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  and  aims  at  serving  and  glorifying 


338  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

God  at  whatsoever  cost  or  risk,  shall  keep  the 
life  which  he  seems  to  hate  unto  life  ever- 
lasting. This  is  the  jjwj — the  same  word  as 
in  the  phrases,  "  in  Him  was  life,"  "  the 
crown  of  life,"  "  the  bread  of  life,"  "  life 
and  godliness."  This  is  that  life  of  union 
with  the  risen  Prince  of  Life  into  which  they 
are  admitted,  and  in  which  they  are  kept,  who 
spend,  and  if  need  be  sacrifice,  their  life  in 
this  world  for  His  sake  and  the  gospel's. 

Thus  both  the  example  and  the  teaching 
of  Christ  condemn  the  self-seeking  and  self- 
sparing  which  are,  alas  !   so  common  among 
those  who  wear  the  Christian  name.     If  we 
be  His  disciples,  we  must  give  up  something 
of  our  ease  in  order  to  have  a  better  consola- 
tion.    We  must   lose  in   order  to   win,   and 
die  in  order  to  live.     If  we  preserve  ourselves 
too  carefully,  we  prove  fruitless,  and  "  abide 
alone."     But  if  we  devote  ourselves  in  love 
to  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  mankind, 
we  live  and  fructify. 

We  have  seen  that  the  growth  of  the 
Church  is  due  to  the  grain  of  wheat  that 
died  in  the  ground  and  sprung  up  again  at 


A  GRAIN  OF  WHEAT.  339 

Jerusalem,  i.e.,  to  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ.  If  any  ask  why  the  Church 
does  not  grow  more  rapidly,  we  believe  that 
this  is  due  mainly  to  the  failure  of  so  many 
Christians  to  obey  the  word  and  follow  the 
example  of  their  Heavenly  Master.  In  ever 
so  many  quarters  where  Christ  is  preached 
and  Church  ordinances  are  regularly  observed, 
there  seems  to  be  little  fruit.  A  dull  average 
is  maintained.  When  you  revisit  such  places, 
perhaps  after  a  lapse  of  years,  you  find  no  en- 
largement or  expansion.  All  things  continue 
as  they  were.  Why  is  this  %  Is  the  gospel 
stricken  with  palsy  ?  Is  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
straitened  ?  Nay ;  but  the  Christianity  cur- 
rent there  is  of  a  formal,  lukewarm  type,  which 
produces  no  effect  and  exerts  no  attractive 
influence.  There  is  no  self-denial  or  self- 
devotion  to  Christ  and  His  cause  on  the 
part  of  those  who  profess  to  believe  the 
gospel  and  ought  to  have  received  the  Spirit. 
The  wheat  lies  in  a  sack  idle  and  unproduc- 
tive. What  is  wanted  all  round  for  the  in- 
crease of  the  Church  is  a  more  complete 
devotion    of   the    followers    of    Christ    to    a 


340  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

service  that  should  be  dearer  to  them   than 
life  itself. 

We  have  never  seen  a  man  thus  devoted 
and  yet  destitute  of  fruit ;  but  we  have  seen 
many  who  had  splendid  opportunities  of  use- 
fulness pass  their  years  to  very  little  purpose, 
simply  because  they  had  never  learned  the 
secret  of  losing  in  order  to  gain,  and  denying 
themselves  in  order  to  prevail.  The  visible 
Church,  even  in  its  purest  and  best  branches, 
is  weakened  and  hindered  by  its  own  half- 
hearted ministers  and  members,  who  live  at 
ease  and  know  nothing  of  taking  up  every 
man  his  own  cross  or  following  the  Son  of 
Man  in  an  obedience  which  will  not  spare 
or  humour  the  flesh.  These  cannot  be  His 
disciples.  But  the  reproach  of  barrenness 
would  soon  be  rolled  away  if  even  a  good 
proportion  of  those  who  look  to  Jesus  Christ 
for  pardon  would  follow  Him  in  service. 
"  Dying,  and  behold  we  live  ;  "  *  and  living 
in  the  power  of  the  Spirit,   we  bring  forth 

much  fruit. 

*  2  Cor.  vi.  9. 


(    34i     ) 


XXXIII. 

THE  BATH  AND  THE  BASON. 

"  Jesus  saith  to  him,  He  that  is  bathed  needeth  not  save  to  'wash 
his  feet,  but  is  clean  every  whit :  and  ye  are  clean,  but  not  all." — St.. 
John  xiii.  10. 

In  a  bath,  the  whole  body  is  plunged  and 
purified ;  in  a  bason,  one  part  of  the  body, 
as  the  hands  or  feet.  An  Eastern  who  bathes 
before  a  banquet  may  need  the  bason  to 
cleanse  his  feet  from  dust  that  they  may  have 
gathered  on  the  way  from  the  bathroom  to 
the  guest-chamber ;  or,  taking  ever  so  short 
a  walk  in  sandals,  he  must  have  water  poured 
over  his  feet,  and  a  servant  with  bason  and 
towel  to  wait  upon  him  before  he  sits  down 
to  meat.  With  His  wonted  felicity  of  illus- 
tration, our  Lord  used  this  familiar  custom  to 
inculcate  moral  and  spiritual  truth. 

This  language  recalls  Old  Testament  sym- 
bolism.     Not   that    our   Saviour  made  such 


342  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

reference,  for  He  was  not  discussing  any 
question  of  religious  worship,  but  teaching 
a  lesson  of  brotherly  love;  but  it  suggests 
itself.  Before  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  in- 
vested with  the  robes  of  priesthood,  Moses 
had  it  in  command  from  God  that  they 
should  bathe  in  water ;  and  then,  after  they 
had  bathed  and  donned  their  robes,  they 
needed  before  each  act  of  service  to  wash 
their  hands  and  feet  at  the  laver  in  the  court 
of  the  tabernacle.  Every  year  thereafter, 
on  that  day  of  atonement  which  raised  the 
priesthood  in  Israel  to  its  highest  point  of 
privilege  in  the  entrance  of  the  high  priest 
as  intercessor  into  the  holy  of  holies,  that 
impersonation  of  all  Israel  was  required  to 
bathe,  and  wash  his  flesh  in  water,  before  he 
put  on  his  linen  garments  of  office. 

The  law  of  "divers  washings"  has  passed 
away  with  those  of  "meats  and  drinks  and 
carnal  ordinances."  The  High  Priest  of  our 
profession  is  the  undefiled  Jesus,  who,  having 
entered  into  the  holiest,  abides  there,  making 
continual  intercession  for  us.  We  also  serve 
as  priests  unto  God ;  but  we  may  not  do  so 


THE  BATH  AND  THE  BASON.  343 

without  a  moral  and  spiritual  purification. 
This  we  have  obtained  as  having  once  bathed 
and  being  "  once  purged."  And  this  we 
must  have  renewed  in  order  to  the  continu- 
ance of  our  service.  Because  we  are  so  apt 
to  be  soiled  in  the  world,  aud  even  to  sin 
amidst  holy  duties,  we  have  need  of  the  bason 
after  the  bath.  Though  we  are  clean,  we  need 
to  wash  our  hands  and  our  feet. 

But  this,  as  we  have  pointed  out,  was  not 
our  Saviour's  theme  in  the  supper-chamber 
at  Jerusalem.  He  was  indicating  not  the 
conditions  of  Christian  worship,  but  the  right 
temper  and  spirit  for  Christian  intercourse 
and  the  Christian  walk.  He  pronounced  all 
the  apostles  to  be  clean,  all  but  one,  on  whom 
the  Master's  cleansing  word  had  not  produced 
its  due  effect — Judas  the  traitor.  The  eleven 
had  passed  through  the  bath.  Therefore 
Simon  Peter  was  mistaken  in  asking  the  Lord 
to  pour  water  over  his  head  and  body,  as 
though  he  were  still  among  the  uncleansed. 
His  impulsive  request  showed  a  want  of 
spiritual  intelligence,  a  defective  appreciation 
of  what  Jesus  had  already  done  for  him  and 


344  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

his  colleagues  in  separating  them  from  the 
mass  of  their  countrymen  and  making  them 
clean  throusrh  His  word. 

We  have  seen  the  same  mistake  among 
Christian  people  who  have  been  ill  taught  or 
have  not  understood  good  teaching.  They 
put  themselves  among  the  unconverted  and 
unpardoned,  supposing  this  to  be  the  dictate 
of  humility.  They  pray  to  be  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  They  are  always 
proposing  to  begin  to  be  Christians.  So  they 
are  of  little  service  to  Christ  or  His  Church, 
because  they  are  not  sure  that  they  are  His 
disciples.  They  cannot  tell  whether  He  has 
cleansed  them  by  His  Word.  It  is  difficult 
to  do  them  any  spiritual  good.  The  bason 
is  for  those  only  who  have  been  in  the  bath ; 
therefore  the  question  of  the  bath  should  first 
be  decided.  To  have  bathed  does  not  imply 
that  we  are  perfect,  but  means  that  we  are 
separated  from  the  unholy  and  profane,  by  the 
blood  of  Christ  purging  our  consciences  and 
the  Word  of  Christ  in  the  Spirit  purifying 
our  hearts. 

He  who  is  a  stranger  to  grace  and  to  God 


THE  BATH  AND  THE  BASON.  345 

needs  the  bath  before  all.  He  who  has  bathed 
still  needs  the  bason,  because  it  is  only  too 
easy  for  him  to  compromise  his  integrity  and 
defile  himself  again  with  stains  of  sin  and 
dust  of  worldliness.#  If  he  has  a  tender  con- 
science, he  cannot  bear  to  wait  on  the  Lord 
or  sup  with  the  Lord  with  soiled  feet ;  so  he 
calls  for  the  bason.  "  Wash  me,  and  I  shall 
be  whiter  than  snow."  And  the  Holy  Saviour, 
on  His  part,  cannot  bear  to  have  His  servants 
tarnished  with  sin  of  daily  life.  However 
small  the  stains,  He  detects  them;  and  He 
must  wash  the  feet  of  His  servants,  or  else 
disown  them  and  say  that  they  have  no  part 
with  Him. 

The  Lord  used  this  metaphor  not  so  much 
with  reference  to  the  pardon  of  sin  and  pur- 
ging of  conscience  from  guilt  as  to  set  forth 
the  cleansing  of  the  mind  and  heart  from 
worldliness  and  fleshly  desire,  in  order  to  a 
continual  fitness  for  Christian  fellowship  and 
service.  And  it  is  He  who  bestows  both  the 
initial  blessing  of  the  bath  and  the  continued 

*  "  Quis  enira  in  hac  vita  sic  mundus,  ut  non  sit  magis 
magisque  mundandus  ] " — August,  in  Joann.  xv.  2. 


346  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

blessing  of  the  bason.  It  was  He  who  made 
the  disciples  "  clean  through  His  word  ; "  and 
it  was  He  who  washed  their  feet.  "We  also 
may,  as  His  servants,  do  something  to  put 
sinful  men  into  the  bath,  if  only  by  urging  on 
their  consciences  the  Lord's  command,  "  Wash 
ye,  make  you  clean."  #  And  we  are  bound 
by  His  example  and  precept  to  take  the  bason 
and  "wash  the  saints'  feet."  It  is  a  good 
piece  of  Christian  service  to  remove  the  dust 
from  some  pilgrim  who  is  weary  and  perhaps 
distressed,  and,  with  unaffected  acts  of  kind- 
ness and  words  of  cleansing  power  uttered  in 
the  Spirit,  refresh  his  heart,  renew  his  heaven- 
ward purpose,  and  fit  him  for  a  closer  and  a 
purer  walk  with  God.  If  we  know  these 
things,  happy  are  we  if  we  do  them. 

*  Isaiah  i.  16-18. 


(    347    ) 


XXXIV. 

THE    TRUE    VINE. 

"I  am  the  true  vine,  and  My  Father  is  the  husbandman.  Every 
branch  in  Me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  He  taketh  it  away :  and  every 
branch  that  beareth  fruit.  He  clean seth  it,  that  it  may  bear  more 
fruit.  Already  ye  .are  clean  because  of  the  word  which  I  have 
spoken  unto  you.  Abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine ;  so  neither  can 
ye,  except  ye  abide  in  Me.  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches  :  he 
that  abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much  fruit :  for 
apart  from  Me  ye  can  do  nothing." — St.  John  xv.  1-5. 

A  living  writer  who  has  given  us  a  careful 
monogram  on  this  theme,  observes  that  "  the 
vine,  take  it  all  in  all,  is  the  most  perfect 
of  plants.  Some  plants  possess  one  part  or 
one  quality  more  highly  developed ;  but  for 
the  harmonious  development  of  every  part 
and  quality,  for  perfect  balance  of  loveliness 
and  usefulness,  there  is  none  to  equal  the 
vine.  It  belongs  to  the  highest  order  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  ranks  in  structure  above 
the   lily   and    the    palm,    occupies   the   same 


348  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

position  among  plants  which  man  does  among 
animals.  Its  stem  and  leaves  are  among  the 
most  elegant  in  shape  and  hue,  its  blossoms 
among-  the  most  modest  and  fragrant,  while 
its  fruit  is  botanically  the  most  perfect."  * 

The  higher  grounds  of  Judea  possess  the 
very  soil  and  climate  that  suit  this  noble 
plant.  Even  now,  after  long  centuries  of 
neglect  and  desolation,  the  eye  is  pleased 
with  the  sight  of  vineyards  on  the  hills  of 
Judah ;  and  in  ancient  times  these  formed  a 
great  element  in  the  beauty  and  prosperity 
of  the  Holy  Land.  After  coming  from  Egypt 
and  passing  through  Northern  Arabia,  the 
Israelites  were  amazed  at  the  clusters  of 
grapes  brought  by  the  scouts  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Hebron.  In  after-times  a  happy 
peasantry  occupied  the  land,  every  man  rest- 
ing under  his  own  vine  and  his  own  fig- 
tree. 

A  natural  object  so  valuable  and  so  familiar 
was  sure  to  find  a  place  in  religious  symbolism. 
So  we  meet  with  it  often  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment applied  to  uses  of  correction  and  instruc- 

*  The  True  Vine,  by  Dr.  H.  MacMillan,  3d  edit.,  p.  32. 


THE  TRUE   VINE.  349 

tion  in  righteousness ;  and  it  occurs  in  no 
fewer  than  five-  of  our  Lord's  parables.  The 
reference  which  He  made  to  it  on  the  nio-ht  in 
which  He  was  betrayed,  if  less  than  a  parable, 
is  more  than  the  term  metaphor  can  express. 
It  is  a  kind  of  allegory,  and  was  doubtless 
suggested  by  incidents  of  the  hour.  At  the 
Last  Supper  Jesus  had  spoken  of  "the  fruit  of 
the  vine."  After  supper  He  held  a  memorable 
conversation  on  life  and  grace,  replying  to 
observations  and  questions  of  the  apostles 
Peter,  Thomas,  Philip,  and  Jude,  and  ending 
with  the  words,  "Arise,  let  us  go  hence." 
Then  the  disciples,  we  may  be  sure,  rose  from 
table  and  formed  a  group  around  Him,  hang- 
ing on  His  lips ;  and  we  know  that  He  con- 
tinued to  speak  to  the  eleven,  and  then  poured 
out  His  heart  in  prayer  to  the  Father  before 
He  proceeded  to  the  garden  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  It  is  not  necessary  to  sup- 
pose that  He  pointed  to  an  actual  viue  climb- 
ing up  the  wall  of  the  house  and  twining 
about  a  verandah  or  the  lattice  of  the  upper* 
chamber,  though  there  is  nothing  forced  or 
unlikely  in  such  a  conjecture.     The  position 


350  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

in  which  He  stood  when  He  rose  from  the 
supper  couch,  with  the  disciples  surrounding 
Him,  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  suggest  a  vine 
with  its  many  branches  centring  in  one  stem 
and  root. 

There  could  be  no  uncertainty  as  to  His 
meaning.  There  are  many  clinging  plants 
which  may  be  called  vines,  as  the  bryony,  the 
Virginian  creeper,  and  the  strawberry,  but 
there  is  one  grape  vine.  There  was  a  vine  of 
Sodom,  the  colocynth,  bearing  poisonous  fruit ; 
but  apples  of  Sodom  are  not  grapes. 

The  Lord  called  Himself  "  the  True  Vine." 
It  is  not  the  true  as  opposed  to  false,  but  the 
genuine  and  perfect  as  distinguished  from  the 
shadowy,  imperfect,  and  inadequate.*  Manna 
in  the  wilderness  had  been  a  daily  bread,  but 
it  was  not  "  the  true  bread  from  heaven."  t 
Israel  had  been  a  vine  brought  by  the  Lord 
out  of  Egypt,  a  country  uusuited  to  its  life, 
and  planted  in  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  but  it 
was  not  the  true  vine.    All  the  pains  taken 

*  On  the  difference  between  aXyOrjs,  ak-qdivbs,  see  Trench's 
New  Testament  Synonyms. 
t  St.  John  vi.  32. 


THE  TRUE  VINE.  351 

with  it  did  not  prevent  its  degeneracy.  And 
Jehovah  uttered  this  reproach  through  his  ser- 
vant Jeremiah,  "  I  had  planted  thee  a  noble 
vine,  wholly  a  right  seed  :  how  then  art  thou 
turned  into  the  degenerate  plant  of  a  strange 
vine  unto  Me  ? "  *  What  was  faultily  and 
inadequately  exhibited  in  Israel  is  fulfilled  in 
Jesus  Christ.  Israel  was  the  Lord's  servant 
to  show  forth  His  praise  among  the  nations, 
but  proved  unfaithful  and  unprofitable.  Jesus 
Christ  came  as  the  Lord's  Elect  Servant,  and 
did  always  the  things  that  pleased  the  Father. 
In  like  manner  Israel  was  the  plant  that  be- 
came a  degenerate  or  wild  vine,  and  Jesus 
Christ  was  the  True  Vine,  ever  alive  and 
fruitful  to  God.  In  Judah  of  old  was  the 
vine,  and  Benjamin  was  "  the  man  of  the 
right  hand ; "  but  Jesus  Christ  was  the 
True  Vine  of  Judah,  and  the  Benjamin,  the 
Son  of  Man  who  is  "  the  Man  of  God's  right 
hand."  t 

The  vine  has  a  very  vigorous  life ;  but  for 
its  development    and  fertility  it  is  very  de- 

*  Jer.  ii.  21.     See  also  Isa.  v.  1-7  ;  Hosea  x.  1. 
t  See  Ps.  lxxx.   14-17. 


352  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

pendent  on  careful  cultivation.  It  needs  the' 
watchful  eye  and  deft  hand  of  a  vine-dresser. 
And  this  is  not  wanting  to  the  True  Vine. 
Jesus  said,  "My  Father  is  the  husband- 
man." The  word  employed  denotes  not  a 
hired  labourer,  but  the  owner  of  the  vine, 
who  puts  his  own  hand  to  the  work  of  train- 
ing and  pruning  it.* 

Although  much  was  made  of  this  expression 
of  our  Lord  by  the  Arians,  it  can  hardly  be 
necessary  now  to  point  out  that  Christ's  sub- 
ordination to  and  dependence  on  the  Father 
during  His  mission  to  this  world  in  no  wise 
contradicts  the  doctrine  of  the  oneness  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son  in  the  Blessed  Trinity. 
It  is  one  thiug  to  state  the  doctrine  of  revela- 
tion regarding  the  essential  Divine  existence, 
which  is  unity  in  trinity ;  it  is  another  thing 
altogether  to  describe  the  Divine  method  of 
human  salvation  in  which  the  Son  is  subor- 
dinated to  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  Many  sound  theo- 
logians have  explained  this  subordination  (as 

*  It  is  the  term  applied  in  the  Septuagint  version  of  Gen. 
ix.  20  to  Noah,  and  in  2  Chron.  xxvi.  10  to  King  Uzziah. 


THE  TRUE  VINE.  353 

in  the  expression  "  My  Father  is  greater  than 
I")  by  the  humanity  of  our  Saviour.  But 
this  is  not  satisfactory.  There  was  no  need 
to  state  that  God  the  Father  Almighty  was 
greater  than  Jesus,  considered  simply  as  a 
man.  The  position  of  the  servant,  the  mes- 
senger, the  inferior,  was  that  which  not  merely 
the  Man,  but  the  God-Man  accepted  while  He 
passed  through  His  "  state  of  humiliation  "  in 
order  to  be  our  Prince  and  Saviour. 

As  the  vine  belongs  to  the  husbandman,  so 
"  Christ  is  God's."  *  As  the  branches  belong 
to  the  vine,  and  so  to  the  husbandman,  Chris- 
tians are  Christ's,  and  so  in  the  possession  and 
the  care  of  God. 

Our  Saviour,  being  intent  on  lifting  the 
thoughts  of  His  disciples  to  the  Father, 
taught  them  that  the  Father  had  planted  the 
True  Vine  in  the  earth  in  the  gift  and  incarna- 
tion of  the  Son,  and  that  He  would  care  for 
and  lovingly  tend  that  Vine  and  all  its 
branches.  The  supports  of  grace  and  the 
pruning-strokes  of  discipline  are  all  of  Him. 

Under  the  eye  and  hand  of  an  owner  who 

*  1  Cor.  iii.  23. 


354  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

looks  after  it  himself,  a  vine  will  send  forth 
branches  and  tendrils  on  every  side,  filled  with 
its  own  strong  vitality.  So  under  the  grace 
and  providence  of  the  Heavenly  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  was  to  produce,  and  is  still  producing, 
disciples  on  every  side,  who  are  not  merely 
instructed  in  His  doctrine,  but  also  imbued 
with  His  Spirit.  Indeed  this  figure  of  a  vine 
and  its  branches  is  perhaps  the  best  of  all  the 
Biblical  illustrations  of  the  intimate  union 
between  Christ  and  His  disciples.  That  of 
the  shepherd  and  the  sheep  gives  us  the 
thought  of  intimacy,  but  it  is  between  a 
guardian  who  is  of  a  superior  order  and 
creatures  of  an  inferior  grade  whom  he  watches 
over  and  protects.  That  of  a  husband  and 
wife  gives  the  ideas  of  intimacy  and  union, 
and  between  two  beings  of  the  same  order ; 
but  they  are  two  persons  with  independent 
lives,  and  one  of  them  lives  on  though  the 
other  has  died.  That  of  the  head  and  members, 
so  much  used  by  St.  Paul,  illustrates  one  life 
common  to  the  whole  body,  but  it  falls  short 
in  not  being  able  to  express  the  constant 
putting  forth  of  new  growths.     A  human  body 


THE  TRUE   VINE.  355 

has  but  a  limited  and  fixed  number  of  mem- 
bers, whereas  a  vine  year  by  year  shoots  forth 
new  twigs  and  branches. 

Each  new  branch  is  itself  a  fresh  youne 
vine  growing  on  the  wood  formed  by  the 
branches  which  are  its  ancestors.  So  every 
living  Christian  is  added  to  the  Church,  and 
is  himself  a  small  vine  growing  out  of  the 
original  Vine,  which  is  Christ,  and  all  the 
Christians  of  past  times  who  are  not  dead  but 
alive  in  Him. 

A  vine  lives  in  its  branches,  and  draws  in 
nourishment  and  animation  through  its  leaves. 
A  vine  without  branches  would  be  a  mere 
stick,  dry  and  useless,  and  would  never  answer 
for  an  emblem  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  would  not 
"  abide  alone,"  but  surrounded  Himself  with 
disciples,  and  provided  for  the  transmission 
and  propagation  of  His  living  effluence  through 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  branches  want  the 
support  of  the  vine  stem,  and  the  life  impelled 
from  the  root.  As  Christ  would  be  incomplete 
and  "  alone  "  without  Christians,  so  Christians 
would  be  nothing  without  Him.  Apart  from 
Him  they  can  do  nothing. 


356  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

As  every  one  knows,  the  vine  is  cultivated 
solely  for  its  fruit.  It  has  luxuriant  foliage 
and  graceful  tendrils,  but  it  would  not  pay 
for  the  labour  expended  on  it  if  it  did  not 
yield  grapes.  This  is  a  point  strongly  urged 
in  condemnation  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  pen  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel/"  The 
wood  is  fit  for  nothing  but  fuel ;  and  so  the 
vine  of  Judah  yielding  no  fruit  to  Jehovah, 
was  in  danger  of  burning  judgment.  Accord- 
ingly the  disciples  were  instructed  that  the 
True  Vine  existed  and  was  tended  by  the 
Heavenly  Father  entirely  with  a  view  to  fruit 
on  the  branches — the  "  fruit  of  righteousness, 
which  is  by  Jesus  Christ  to  the  glory  and 
praise  of  God."  It  was,  so  to  speak,  the  very 
object  which  the  True  Vine  had  in  view  in 
producing  and  sustaining  its  branches.  "  I 
chose  you  and  appointed  you,  that  ye  should 
go  and  bear  fruit."  t  It  is  also  the  wish  of 
the  Husbandman,  and  is  the  only  proper 
return  or  response  that  can  be  made  to  His 
watchful  care.  "  Herein  is  My  Father  glori- 
fied, that  ye  bear  much  fruit."  \ 

*  Chap.  xv.  f  Ver.  16.  X  V"er.  8. 


THE  TRUE  VINE.  357 

It  has  been  said  too  absolutely  that  "  it  is 
fruit  that  Christ  wants,  not  works."  He  wants 
works  from  those  who  believe  on  His  name, 
as  we  learn  in  express  terms  both  from  Him 
and  His  apostles.#  But  in  some  respects  the 
word  fruit  certainly  gives  a  better  conception 
of  what  Christian  obedience  should  be.  Works 
may  be  performed  from  a  variety  of  motives, 
but  fruit  must  be  the  spontaneous  product  of 
an  inward  disposition.  Works  may  be  done 
by  a  combination  of  Christians  in  a  Church  or 
society,  in  which  it  is  difficult  to  assign  to 
each  person  his  share,  but  fruit  comes  out  in 
distinct  individual  detail.  The  vinedresser 
can  see  what  each  branch  or  twig  bears,  and 
can  cut  off  the  fruitless  and  therefore  super- 
fluous wood.  So  the  Father  in  heaven  takes 
cognisance  of  the  individual  fruit-bearing  of 
every  one  who  professes  to  be  Christ's  ;  and 
in  all  His  care  of  the  vine,  even  in  His 
sharpest  pruning,  He  aims  at  an  increase  of 
the  fruit  of  righteousness. 

Grapes  from  ordinary  vines  are  easily 
blighted,  and,  at  their  best,  if  not  gathered 

*  St.  John  ix.  4,  xiv.  12  ;  Eph.  ii.  10  ;  James  ii.  26. 


358  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

for  food  or  for  wine-making,  they  fall  to  the 
earth  and  perish ;  but  it  was  the  pleasure  of 
Him  who  is  the  True  Vine  to  produce  through 
the  disciples,  who  were  His  branches,  fruit  that 
"  should  abide."*  Efforts  of  men  in  their  own 
strength,  ever  so  well  meant,  how  little  comes 
of  them !  The  paths  of  history  are  strewn 
with  withered  blossoms,  abortive  buds,  and 
perishing  fruit.  Early  promise  of  goodness 
without  life  in  Christ,  how  it  passes  away  and 
is  forgotten !  In  mid-life  there  is  blight,  and 
in  old  age  barrenness  and  vanity.  But  Jesus 
Christ,  in  and  through  His  disciples,  yields 
permanent  results  in  their  lives  to  His  Father's 
glory.  He  causes  them  to  continue  in  His 
commandments,  and  so  also  in  His  love.  He 
holds  them  in  vital  union  with  Himself,  as 
branches  abiding  in  the  Vine ;  and  then,  by 
His  Word  abiding  in  them  and  the  Spirit  of 
His  life  flowing  into  them,  He  forms  and 
matures  them  to  a  consistence  of  character 
which  has  precious  and  enduring  fruit.  Thus 
His  joy  continues  to  be  in  them,  and 
their  joy  in    Him    is   fulfilled.       They   have 

*  Ver.  1 6. 


THE  TRUE   VINE.  359 

"  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting 
life."  * 

How  true  this  has  been  of  those  first 
branches,  the  band  of  disciples  to  whom 
Christ  spoke  this  allegory!  Of  other  men 
who  lived  at  that  period,  and  whose  names 
ran  or  through  the  Roman  world,  what  re- 
mains?  Names  have  come  down  to  us,  and 
a  few  books  and  laws,  because  these  appeal  to 
intellect  and  the  sense  of  justice ;  but  of  all 
that  men  did  or  accumulated  for  their  own 
ends,  we  find  nothing  but  a  few  ruins.  Con- 
trast with  this  the  case  of  those  men  of  Gali- 
lee whom  Jesus  Christ  sent  forth  in  His  name 
and  with  His  Spirit  to  yield  fruit  to  God  in 
preaching  peace  and  doing  good  to  men. 
What  grand  results  from  them !  Their  fruit 
remains  to  this  day.  Theirs,  and  the  fruit 
of  those  who  have  followed  their  faith,  and 
drawn  from  the  same  Vine-root  of  perpetual 
life,  is  precious  and  fragrant  in  many  lands, 
giving  glory  to  Jesus  and  to  His  Father  in 
heaven. 

*  Romans  vi.  22. 


(    3*o     ) 


XXXV. 

TRA  V A  IL. 

"  A  woman  when  she  is  in  travail  hath  sorrow,  because  her  hour  i3 
come  :  but  when  she  is  delivered  of  the  child,  she  remembereth  no 
more  the  anguish,  for  the  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into  the  world. 
And  ye  therefore  now  have  sorrow  :  but  I  will  see  you  again,  and 
your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  one  taketh  away  from  you." 
— St.  John  xvi.  21,  22. 

On  the  score  of  taste,  this  sort  of  metaphor 
or  illustration  would  scarcely  suit  the  polite 
literature  of  the  West  at  the  present  day ; 
but  no  objection  would  be  taken  to  it  in  the 
East.  There  is  really  no  indelicacy  about 
it ;  and  it  is  admirably  expressive  of  a  time 
of  pain  and  sorrow  breaking  forth  into  a 
lively  joy. 

The  illustration  rests  on  the  Divine  sentence 
regarding  woman  in  childbirth  recorded  in  the 
third  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  it  is  used  as  a 
figure  of  things  moral  and  spiritual  in  seve- 
ral books  of  the  Old  Testament.     It  therefore 


TRAVAIL.  361 

came  naturally  into  our  Saviour's  post-com- 
munion address  to  His  disciples  after  the 
mention  of  the  vine,  also  a  familiar  symbol 
or  emblem  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

The  sentence  pronounced  on  woman  because 
of  the  first  transgression  was  that  in  sorrow 
she  should  bring  forth  children.  The  Divine 
words,  in  the  very  act  of  announcing  travail, 
suggested  deliverance  and  joy ;  for  woman  is 
saved,  and  we  all  are  saved  "through  the 
child-bearing."  *  The  offspring  of  woman 
bruises  the  serpent's  head.  A  recollection  of 
the  promise  to  this  effect  perhaps  accounts 
for  the  marked  and  sympathetic  manner  in 
which  the  Old  Testament  alludes  to  the 
trouble  and  peril  through  which  mothers 
pass.t  Not  only  so.  It  has  led  to  personi- 
fication of  Zion  or  Jerusalem  by  the  inspired 
poets  and  prophets  as  a  mother  whose  time 
of  tribulation  would  result  in  the  multiplica- 
tion of  her  children.  Thus  in  one  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  J  the  Jewish  nation  suffering,  yet  not 

*  1  Tim.  ii.  15. 

t  "We  refer  to  the  mention  made  of  Kebekah,  Rachel,  and 
the  wife  of  the  unworthy  priest  Phinehas. 
J  Isaiah  xxvi.  17,  18. 


362  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

profiting  by  affliction  or  yielding  any  adequate 
service  to  God,  is  likened  to  a  woman  who 
travails  for  an  abortive  birth.  In  another 
chapter  of  the  same  prophet,*  the  sudden 
prosperity  of  Zion  is  described  as  a  joyful 
childbirth  with  little  antecedent  pain.  "As 
soon  as  she  travailed,  she  brought  forth  chil- 
dren." t 

Both  the  prophet  Isaiah  and  the  Apostle 
Paul  employ  this  domestic  figure  to  illus- 
trate their  own  anxiety  under  the  burden 
of  sacred  ministry  with  which  they  were 
severally  charged.  The  former,  under  a  pre- 
vision of  the  capture  of  Babylon  by  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  was  acutely  distressed. 
"  Pangs  have  taken  hold  upon  me,  as  the 
pangs  of  a  woman  that  travaileth."  }  The 
latter,  full  of  solicitude  for  the  Christian 
stability  of  the  converts  in  Galatia,  addressed 
them  as  his  "little  children,  of  whom  I  am 
again   in   travail    until    Christ  be  formed  in 

*  Isaiah  IxVi.  7,  8. 

t  Similar  applications  of  the  metaphor  occur  in  Hosea 
xiii.  and  Micah  iv.  St.  Paul  has  it  as  an  illustration  of 
sudden  anguish  in  1  Thess.  v. 

%  Isaiah  xxi.  3,  4. 


TRAVAIL.  363 

you."  *  Indeed,  St.  Paul,  though  personally 
so  free  from  family  ties,  seems  to  have  been 
peculiarly  alive  to  household  feelings  and 
affections.  He  described  himself  as  a  father 
with  children  in  the  gospel,  many  of  them 
"  begotten  in  his  bonds  ;  "  as  a  mother  yearn- 
in  g  for  the  new  birth  of  those  to  whom  he 
ministered  the  Word;  and  as  "a  nurse  cherish- 
ing her  children,"  in  his  gentle  care  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

In  one  of  the  chief  works  of  the  same 
apostle  occurs  a  famous  passage  representing 
the  whole  creation  as  travailing  in  pain  while 
it  waits  for  the  resurrection  of  the  saints. 
The  earth  is  burdened,  and  its  burden  grows 
heavier;  the  sighs  of  creation  are  deep,  and 
become  deeper  and  more  intense  as  the  days 
go  on.  Nay,  the  Christians  living  on  the 
earth  groan  within  themselves ;  not  indeed 
in  despair,  but  in  eager  hope.  All  that 
expectation  is  a  sort  of  travail ;  and  the 
birth-throes  will  ultimately  bring  forth  a 
joyful  issue  in  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of 
the  sons  of  God.t 

*  Gal.  iv.  19.  t  Rom.  viii.  19-25. 


364  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

So  much  on  the  frequent  use  of  this  metaphor 
in  Holy  Writ.  Now  consider  the  particular 
use  of  it  made  by  our  Saviour.  He  had  His 
profound  trouble  of  soul,  and  was  about  to 
be  "  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death."  * 
Isaiah  had  foretold  this  as  being  "  the  travail 
of  His  soul."  But  out  of  this  issued  His 
triumph  and  His  glory.  His  reappearance 
from  the  grave  was  by  a  kind  of  new  birth 
from  a  dark  and  silent  womb.  His  first  birth 
was  from  the  virgin  womb  of  Joseph's  be- 
trothed wife ;  His  second  from  the  virgin 
womb  of  another  Joseph's  sepulchre. 

With  His  mind  full  of  this  travail  and 
deliverance  in  the  immediate  future,  Jesus 
employed  the  same  illustration  to  cheer  His 
desponding  disciples.  The  deepening  sorrow 
which  hung  upon  them  as  His  last  sufferings 
drew  near  was  the  travail  of  their  souls.  Their 
Master  felt  for  them.  It  is  indeed  most  touch- 
ing to  see  what  consideration  the  Man  of 
Sorrows  had  for  their  feelings,  and  how  He 
provided  consolation  for  them  when  a  less 
perfect  sufferer   would   have    been  engrossed 

*  St.  John  xii.  27  ;  St.  Matt.  xxvi.  37,  38. 


TRAVAIL.  365 

with  his  own  imminent  peril  and  his  own 
claim  for  sympathy.  He  felt  their  sorrow  as 
an  accompanying  shadow  of  His  own  ;  and 
He  wished  them  to  share  the  good  hope  which 
dwelt  within  His  breast.  It  was  "for  the  joy 
set  before  Him  "  that  He  "  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame."  He  knew  that  because 
of  this  travail  of  His  soul  He  would  be  satis- 
fied. He  knew  that  His  suffering  would  not 
only  precede,  but  also  procure  and  produce 
His  glory.  So  He  wished  to  lift  His  depressed 
and  anxious  disciples  into  a  participation  of 
this  great  comfort  of  hope.  If  they  suffered 
with  Him,  as  "  companions  of  His  tribulation," 
they  would  also  have  their  part  in  the  joy 
which  was  soon  to  be  born  out  of  all  this 
sorrow.  He  was  to  rise  from  the  dead ;  and 
they  were  to  see  Him  again  as  "  a  man  born 
into  the  world"  from  the  very  womb  of 
Hades. 

And  it  was  so.  Though  the  eleven  apostles 
were  not  able  at  the  time  to  enter  into  the  full 
consolation  of  their  Master's  words,  and  were 
on  that  night  and  the  two  following  days 
quite    overwhelmed  with  grief  and    conster- 


366  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

nation  at  the  capture,  condemnation,  and 
public  crucifixion  of  their  Lord,  on  the  third 
day  something  occurred  which  made  them 
forget  their  sorrow.  That  their  travail  COn- 
tinued  up  to  the  very  morning  of  the  resurrec- 
tion is  shown  by  the  words  of  St.  Mark,  that 
Mary  Magdalene  "  went  and  told  them  that 
had  been  with  Him,  as  they  mourned  and 
wept."  *  But  the  fourth  Gospel  tells  us  that 
when  Jesus  reappeared  among  them  "  the  dis- 
ciples were  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord."  t 
Thereafter  we  find  no  trace  of  grief,  or  even  of 
misgiving.  Though  the  Lord  departed  from 
them  into  heaven,  the  apostles  "returned  to 
Jerusalem  with  great  joy."  J 

But  again  there  is  travail.  In  each  genera- 
tion the  Church  of  God  has  throes  and  inward 
pantings  of  desire  and  hope  that  the  world 
does  not  understand.  She  is  yearning  to  bring 
forth  her  children  as  children  of  God,  born 
"  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,"  and  with  Jesus 
Christ  "  formed  in  them."  Alas  !  there  is  too 
little  of  this  sacred   travail.      If  there  were 

*  St.  Mark  xvi.  10.  t  St.  John  xx.  20. 

X  St.  Luke  xxiv.  52. 


TRAVAIL.  367 

more,  there  would  be  more  children.  When 
the  Church  grows  light-hearted  and  vainglori- 
ous, occupied  (if  one  may  so  speak)  with  her 
dresses  and  her  appearance,  with  her  riches 
and  honours,  she  is  "  barren  and  unfruitful." 
But  when  she  has  serious  concern  about  spiri- 
tual life  and  its  increase  ;  when  she  has  prayer- 
ful   throes   and    "  £roanin£S   that   cannot   be 

O  CD 

uttered,"  these  prove  to  be  parturient  pangs 
that  are  never  in  vain,  but  are  rewarded  by 
the  birth  of  children  who  are  to  be  heirs  of 
God  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ. 

Indeed,  one  may  say  that  in  the  individual 
conscience  and  heart  there  are  such  pangs 
before  it  is  safe  or  ordinarily  possible  to  have 
the  joy  of  salvation.  They  are  good  symptoms, 
those  convictions  of  sin,  throes  of  grief,  and 
pantings  of  a  burdened  spirit.  They  precede 
and  prepare  for  a  new  birth  and  a  new  life 
accompanied  by  a  joy  not  easily  blighted  or 
snatched  away.  No  doubt  many  men  dread 
such  inward  pain,  and  think  themselves  well 
off  because  they  have  never  had  any  religious 
anxiety,  but  have  taken  spiritual  things  coolly 
and  been  content  to  hope  for  the  best.      They 


368  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

too  may  have  a  kind  of  joy ;  but  what  a  poor 
shallow  thing  it  is  compared  with  joy  in  the 
Lord  !  It  is  a  matter  of  temperament,  depends 
on  "  a  good  flow  of  spirits,"  swells  with  a  tem- 
porary success,  falls  with  every  disappoint- 
ment and  defeat.  Who  can  say  of  such  joy, 
"  No  one  can  snatch  it  from  me  ?  "  In  truth, 
there  is  no  way  but  through  sorrow  to  im- 
perishable joy. 

In  some  respects  the  state  of  the  disciples 
between  the  decease  of  their  Master  and  His 
reappearance  among  them  illustrates  the  an- 
xiety of  the  Church  during  all  the  prolonged 
interval  between  His  departure  to  the  Father 
and  His  second  coming.  Obviously  there 
are  important  points  of  difference.  The  dis- 
ciples thought  of  Jesus  as  cut  off  by  a  cruel 
and  shameful  death,  whereas  the  Church 
knows  that  He  is  living  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Majesty  on  high.  The  disciples  had  the 
promise  of  the  Comforter,  whereas  the  Church 
has  the  presence  of  the  Comforter.  Still  this 
great  analogy  holds  good.  The  disciples 
waited,  and  the  Church  is  waiting  for  the 
fulness   of  joy.      They   were    encouraged  to 


TRAVAIL.  369 

expect  the  Saviour  out  of  the  realm  of  the 
dead ;  the  Church  expects  Him  from  the 
heaven  of  heavens.  The  disciples  were  to 
have  their  joy  in  the  regeneration  or  resurrec- 
tion of  Him  who  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  the 
Church  is  to  have  her  joy  in  the  sublime  re- 
generation or  resurrection  of  the  saints  and 
the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God. 

0  bright  day  when  the  Church  shall  see 
her  Lord  in  glory  and  be  with  Him — with 
Him  for  ever!  All  preceding  anguish  will 
be  forgotten  in  that  joy;  all  tribulation  in 
the  glory  which  is  to  be  revealed.  Then 
they  that  laugh  now  shall  mourn  and  weep ; 
but  they  that  weep  now  shall  laugh.  The 
travail  ends,  and  ends  well. 


2  A 


(     37o    ) 


XXXVI 

THE  GREEN  TREE  AND  THE  DRY. 

"  For  if  they  do  these  things  in  the  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done 
in  the  dry  ?  " — St.  Luke  xxiii.  31. 

It  relieves  the  brutal  cruelty  of  the  scene  to 
read  that  "  women  bewailed  and  lamented " 
our  Lord  as  He  was  led  forth  to  be  crucified. 
Of  course,  they  were  not  interspersed  with 
men  in  the  crowd,  as  they  are  on  occasions 
of  popular  excitement  in  our  streets.  Accord- 
ing to  Oriental  usage,  they  must  have  been 
grouped  by  themselves ;  and  from  such  a 
group  rose  a  cry  of  grief  and  pity  as  the 
Just  One,  guarded  by  Eoman  soldiers  and 
followed  by  Simon  the  Cyrenian  carrying  the 
cross,  moved  on  to  Calvary.  Women  in  all 
future  time  and  all  countries  have  a  right 
to  reflect  with  pleasure  that  there  is  no  men- 


THE  GREEN  TREE  AND  THE  DRY.         371 

tion  in  the  Gospels  of  any  woman  rejecting 
Christ,  or  speaking  to  Him  an  unkind  or  dis- 
respectful word. 

The  lamentation  of  the  women  did  what 
all  the  mockery  of  the  men  could  not  do. 
It  caused  the  Lord  Jesus  to  break  that  sub- 
lime silence  in  which  He  was  "enduring  all 
things ; "  for  He  turned  to  them  and  warned 
them  of  the  woe  that  was  to  come  on  their 
guilty  city  in  their  own  days,  or  those  of 
their  children.  His  mind  had  been  profoundly 
occupied  with  the  impending  doom  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  this,  His  last  utterance  before  He 
was  crucified,  was  a  solemn  and  pathetic  pro- 
phecy of  its  woful  fall. 

He  ended  it  with  a  figurative  or  metaphori- 
cal saying.  Every  one  knows  the  difference 
between  green  wood  unfit  to  burn,  and  dry 
wood  ready  for  the  fire.  But  there  has  been 
divergence  of  opinion  about  the  exact  mean- 
ing or  application  of  the  figure  on  this  parti- 
cular occasion.  Many  have  referred  "  the 
green  tree"  to  Christ  Himself,  who  deserved 
not  to  die,  and  "the  dry  tree"  to  the  lifeless 


372  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

and  fruitless  condition  of  Israel,  deserving  the 
doom,  and  fit  only  for  the  doom,  of  a  fiery 
punishment.  With  this  interpretation  we 
cannot  feel  satisfied.  It  is  not  likely  that 
the  Saviour  would  describe  His  own  innocence 
by  the  phrase  "  the  green  tree,"  or  that  there 
is  an  entire  change  of  subject  between  the  first 
clause  of  the  sentence  and  the  second.  Our 
view  is  that  the  wood  in  both  clauses  has  the 
same  reference.  At  first  it  is  in  a  green  or 
moist  state,  but  in  time  it  becomes  dry  and 
fit  to  be  burned.  The  contrast  then  is  not 
between  innocence  and  wickedness,  but  be- 
tween wickedness  immature  and .  wickedness 
mature ;  and  so  the  reference,  all  through, 
is  to  the  state  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  the  fig- 
tree  green,  and  putting  forth  leaves ;  but 
soon  it  was  to  wither  "from  the  root  up- 
wards," so  that  no  more  fruit  could  be 
gathered  from  that  dry  tree ;  then  it  would 
be  fit  only  for  the  burning.  So  the  Lord's 
words  may  be  paraphrased  :  "If  this  deed 
of  unjust  violence,  which  draws  forth  your 
cry    of  sorrow,    0    daughters    of  Jerusalem, 


THE  GREEN  TREE  AND  THE  DRY.         373 

be  done  in  this  time  of  Israel's  abundant 
leafage  or  show  of  godliness,  what  crimes 
shall  be  perpetrated  in  this  city,  and  what 
judgment  shall  fall  on  it,  when  the  iniquity- 
is  full  and  the  patience  of  Heaven  is  ex- 
hausted ? " 

Jesus  Christ  was  not  so  absorbed  in  His 
own  sorrow  as  to  be  oblivious  of  the  sorrow 
of  others.  Everywhere  and  always  He  had  a 
Saviour's  heart  that  yearned  over  the  perish- 
ing. And  as  the  shouts  of  the  people  moved 
Him  to  tears  when  He  rode  into  the  city, 
looked  on  it,  and  foresaw  its  ruin,  so  again  the 
wailing  cry  of  women  stirred  in  Him  thoughts 
of  pity  for  the  misery  which  women  and 
children  would  endure  in  the  horrors  of  the 
Roman  siege.  He  had  given  to  His  disciples 
signs  by  which  they  might  discern  the  ap- 
proach of  the  great  catastrophe  and  escape 
it ;  but  those  tender-hearted  women  !  what  a 
future  lay  before  them  and  their  children  ! 

It  is  a  warning  of  continually  recurring 
application.  It  seems  to  many  a  light  thing 
to    reject   Christ.      No    stroke    from   heaven 


374  METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS. 

falls   upon   them.       The   green    tree    is  not 

consumed.     But  punishment  delayed   is  not 
punishment  escaped.     When    the  iniquity  is 

full,   and  the  time  for  repentance  spent,  the 

green  wood   becomes   dry ;    then  follows  the 
judgment  of  eternal  fire. 


INDEX. 


PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE  TREATED  OF 


St.  Matthew. 

j.  vj  uij    inrir 

LltlL 

St. 

Luke 

PAGE 

PAGE 

v.  13 

I 

v.  31 

•      95 

„  14-16. 

16 

1.    36-39 

106 

vi.  19-21 

.   28 

vi.  41,  42 

38 

vii.  3-5     • 

38 

„  47-49 

87 

„  6 

50 

vii.  31-34 

127 

„   13,14- 

63 

xi.  44 

191 

„  15,20. 

76 

xii.  1 

135 

„  24-29. 

87 

„  33,34 

28 

ix.  12 

95* 

xiii.  31,  32 

202 

„   16, 17. 

106 

»    34 

209 

„  37,3s- 

112 

xiv.  34,  35 

1 

x.  16       . 

118 

xvii.  37 

232 

xi.  16, 19 . 

.     127 

xxiii.  31 

370 

xvi.  6, 12    . 

135 

„  18       .         .        . 

144 

„   19       . 

152 

St.  John. 

xviii.  1,  2, 10,  14  . 

157 

xix.  21-26 

169 

ii.  19-22 . 

•     257 

xxiii.  23,  24 

181 

iii.  8 

.     267 

„  27,28 

191 

iv.  10-14  • 

.     278 

„  37        •        •     '    • 

209 

„  35-38. 

112 

xxiv.  27 

221 

vi.  27,48-51 

.     290 

„  28       . 

232 

vii.  37-39  • 

.     278 

„  42-51. 

243 

viii.  12 
ix.  4 

.       16 

•     305 

St.  Mark. 

x.  9,  II 

.     3l6 

ii.  17 

-      95 

xii.  24,  25 

.     328 

„    21,22     . 

.     106 

xiii.  10 

•     34i 

viii.  15 

•     135 

xv.  1-5     . 

•     347 

ix.  35-37   • 

.     157 

xvi.  21,  22 

.     360 

xiii.  35-37    • 

-    243 

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